


Snapshots (AU Yeah August 2020)

by Nomolosk



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU Yeah AUgust (Miraculous Ladybug), AU Yeah August 2020, Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Café, Childhood Friends, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Cursed, Disney, Enemies, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Misunderstandings, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Reverse Crush (Miraculous Ladybug), Secret Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Social Media, Time Travel, Wings, bender - Freeform, fairytale, flower shop, interconnected story, lots of AUs, penpals, star-crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 35,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25655623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomolosk/pseuds/Nomolosk
Summary: A month long foray into how different life could be for our favorite Chat and Bug team.Prompts will appear in the title of each chapter, and though different AUs will feature, the story will flow from one to the next. Don't worry, it'll make sense before the end. 😉Expect tags to change/be added to- I'm flying by the seat of my pants, although I have a general direction and idea.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 184
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette Dupain-Cheng blew the bangs off her forehead and carefully balanced six plates and a small wire syrup stand before moving toward the outer door. Today her section included the small patio area, and while her clumsiness had largely worn off, she was still subject to the occasional bout of wrong-foot-itis.

Fortunately, today didn’t seem to be one of her bad days, and she made it through the screen door without losing any of the plates. Once through the “checkpoint” as she privately called it- video gaming still ran in her blood, after all- she rapidly approached the two tables whose food had come out at the same time. Though the parties were separate, they had sat down at tables next to each other, which made delivering the food easier. She smiled brightly in their general direction before heading straight to the table on her right. 

Marinette had previously categorized this odd-couple as tourists- not that there was anything wrong with tourists- based on their mismatched styles and the amount of food they ordered. She noted how the well-dressed woman seemed tense, while her scruffy male companion (boyfriend?) lounged at his ease in his wicker patio chair. 

Marinette placed the woman’s order of three chocolate chip waffles in front of her, also setting down a plate of fresh fruit and the syrup. Oddly- since most of the tourists Marinette had served were overly friendly- the woman looked away, putting a hand up to toy with bright red hair, almost as if she were hiding her face. Food safely delivered, Marinette dismissed her behavior and put the man’s  _ two _ cheese omelets (with a side of camembert) in front of him. He smirked at her and gave her a half-salute in thanks. Marinette wished them bon appetit and turned to the other table. Something about the couple tugged at her mind, but she didn’t have time for mysteries this morning.

Marinette braced herself as she put the other two plates down. This table held two young men about her age, and she’d made an absolute fool of herself earlier taking their orders. Well…  _ his _ order, anyway. Of the two, one had the chiseled features of a model, and a general air of brightness to him that dazzled. The other, while good-looking, just didn’t have the same  _ presence. _ Marinette smiled and kept her thoughts to herself so she didn’t stumble over her words again. She said “bone appetit” and turned away.

“Oh, miss!”

Marinette swiveled on her heels, only to almost crash into the model. Somehow he’d materialized right behind her, and she found herself looking up into impossibly green eyes. Her breath stopped.

“You have a ladybug in your hair,” the blonde (who, Marinette was sure, would shortly be featuring in her daydreams) said. He kept eye contact a moment longer, then glanced up and to the side. She felt a feather-light touch on her hair just above her right ear. With a gentle smile, he showed her the tiny spotted beetle now crawling along his index finger. Marinette smiled at the little bug, eyes following it as the man lifted his hand to his own eye level. It didn’t take much for Marinette to get a little lost in his eyes. Eyes that seemed familiar, all of a sudden. 

“You should make a wish,” a new voice said, breaking the moment. “Ladybugs bring good luck, you know.”

Marinette blinked and turned to see that a passerby had stopped to watch the scene. The woman was unremarkable, except for the little smile on her lips. Yet Marinette felt sure she should recognize her… she must have eaten at the cafe before. Marinette took a step back, suddenly aware of how close she was still standing to her (exceptionally attractive) customer. Her heart pounded, but she ignored it and smiled at the woman.

“Thank you, but I believe we make our own luck. Did you want a table? We have several open at the moment,” Marinette waved to the mostly empty patio, noticing that the red-haired woman had scooted her chair around so that her back was to the sidewalk.

The passerby narrowed her eyes a little. “Perhaps a little later. I have things to do at the moment.” Then she turned and walked off. Marinette shrugged and turned back to the man. He was still watching the ladybug crawl around on his hand with a small frown. Beyond him she spied the planter full of flowers she’d watered just a few hours earlier. 

Marinette took a breath and spoke, holding out her hand and hoping she wouldn’t stutter again. “Th-thank you sir. I can take care of that- you shouldn’t let your eggs get cold.”

“But this little lady needs someone to take care of her,” the blonde murmured, almost too quiet for her to hear.

“Ah, but never let it be said that we don’t cater to all kinds here,” Marinette said, wondering where this sudden confidence and daring had come from. “We have some planters right here, and I’m sure the ladybug will find a lovely meal among the flowers.”

Reluctantly, the young man lowered his hand and Marinette coaxed the ladybug to crawl onto hers instead. The moment it touched her skin, she felt strange- like those mornings when she’d been younger that she woke up with a sense of expectation, as if something wonderful, something big, was going to happen. Carefully cupping her other hand over the insect, she walked over to the planter, bending to let the ladybug crawl from her hand onto a leaf. The sense of expectation faded and Marinette shook her head a little.

She turned back to her tables, seeing everyone had returned to their seats and started eating. “Is there anything else I can get you right now?”

“Your phone number for my friend here!” the blonde’s companion said, giving her a wink and  _ finger guns _ . Marinette’s eyebrows rose high as she stared at him. The blonde, meanwhile, choked and coughed, turning red, although Marinette wasn’t sure if that was from embarrassment or esophageal distress. She turned wide eyes toward him, but he just shook his head, reaching for his glass and still coughing.

She felt herself flush and turned to the other table as a distraction. To her surprise, both their plates were already empty. It had only been a few minutes since she put their plates down… could anyone really eat that fast without choking? Regardless, she quickly gathered their plates and rushed back into the cafe.

Marinette took care of the few other tables she had indoors and then reluctantly went back out to the patio to deliver the check (the other couple had already paid and left). It was far from the first time she’d been hit on while at work, but usually it wasn’t by proxy, and somehow the hot blonde guy’s rejection of his friend’s suggestion stung more than it should.

As she put their check on the table, the blonde tentatively held out his hand to keep her from rushing off.

“Sorry about my friend,” he said, with an apologetic smile. “Nino here finally got a girlfriend and he’s been trying to set me up with any and every girl we come across ever since.” His eyes then widened in horror. “Not that I don’t- I mean, you’re gorgeous! And actually, I  _ would  _ like- but you probably already have a boyfriend, and… ugh, sorry, this is coming out all wrong,” he finished, adorably awkward as he hid his face behind his hands. “I just meant to apologize,” he continued, voice muffled. His friend, meanwhile, was unsuccessfully trying to stifle his laughter and had pulled out his phone at some point, presumably recording the whole thing.

Marinette found herself smiling- well, more like smirking, actually. “Well, hot stuff,” she said. “Keep it up and you just might get that phone number.” 

  
The blonde jerked his head up and stared at her and Marinette, deeply regretting her own temerity, flushed to the roots of her hair, turned tail, and  _ ran _ back inside and all the way to the back of the kitchen, only coming back out when she was absolutely certain they had left.


	2. Day 2- Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien puzzles over the cute waitresses response.

“Well, hot stuff, keep it up and you just might get that number.”

Adrien jerked his head out of his hands and stared at the cute waitress in astonishment. For some reason she’d seemed familiar when she’d taken their order, stumbling over her words and blushing around a wide smile, but Adrien couldn’t recall ever meeting her before. Adrien was somewhat used to getting second and even third glances, thanks to the genes he inherited from his mother, and usually made it a point to politely ignore gawkers. But something about her had drawn his attention. Something about her expression as she took the other couple’s order had reminded of him his Lady. Yet then she’d been so adorably bumbling with him.

It didn’t make much sense, and he’d tried to ignore it, being as kind as possible and trying to apologize for Nino’s disastrous attempt at being a wingman.

And now here she was, boldly bantering when Adrien himself had started inexplicably shoving his own foot in his mouth. Yet, as he stared at her, her expression morphed from confident and cocky to absolutely horrified. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she turned and fled.

Adrien had no idea what to think, although a bemused smile took over his face. Nino patted his shoulder, carefully avoiding the edges of Adrien’s golden wings. Adrien blinked at the reminder of their existence- it was seldom he forgot they were there, painfully bound and cramping as they usually were. Yet even as he half-questioned it- had the waitress had wings…? He couldn’t remember what color they were- the thought slipped from his mind and he turned to his friend, ready to lay into him for this entire situation.

“Hey, where’s my thank you?” Nino demanded before Adrien could even say a word. “Here I am, actually getting you a foot in the door with a cute girl you’re obviously attracted to, and not a word of thanks! I’m hurt, bro!”

Adrien shook himself out of his stupor and turned a raised eyebrow on him. “A foot in the door, hmm? I seem to recall that she actually  _ ran _ away from me.”

“Not until  _ after _ she called you ‘hot stuff.’” Nino smirked.

“Yes, and then she  _ ran away _ .” Adrien repeated. He huffed a sigh. “I didn’t even get a name.”

“Yeah, well stop whining. She literally told you you’d have a chance if you keep coming back.”

Privately, Adrien sincerely doubted that. She’d had the look of someone who’s mouth had run away with them, and if he was smart, he would avoid the place until she’d had time to get over her embarrassment. Or at least until he could reasonably pretend to have forgotten the whole awkward encounter and start fresh.

Adrien’s shoulders slumped, but not far. In addition to holding his wings upright, the bindings had the added ‘benefit’ of preventing slouching. His father, of course, called it a ‘win-win’ situation. As a model, Adrien was used to contorting himself into uncomfortable poses that looked good on camera, but he did chaff at being forced into good posture in his day-to-day life. Yet he knew his father would revoke all his current privileges if he took the bindings off, and hanging with Nino (and now Alya) and his other friends was worth it.

“Well, let’s get going. It’s almost time for your audition,” Adrien said, standing up. These roof-top cafes were quite popular, and he could see several flyers waiting for their turn to land and get a table.

“Yeah. Where’s your carrier?” Nino asked, standing himself.

Adrien blinked again, momentarily disoriented. He looked around until he spotted Gorilla sitting on a valet perch, the armored capsule attached to the harness he wore resting on the rooftop itself. Adrien sighed, watching Nino approach the striped edge of the roof designated as a take-off zone and stretch and flap his brown-barred wings a few times to warm them up. Oh, how he wished to do the same. But he could only fly as Chat Noir, and even so, his clumsy attempts often caused more trouble in battle than it might be worth. Yet he refused to give it up and Ladybug agreed with him. She’d been so incensed with him for revealing that he’d never flown before (that revealed too much about his identity, since on the rich and vain used carriers), but she’d thereafter urged him to spend as much time transformed as he could in order to learn. But he wasn’t Chat Noir right now, so...

Resigning himself to another stuffy transport, he walked over to the valet perch and put in the code for the capsule. The front half split down the center and popped open and Adrien turned and stepped back into it in an all-too-familiar movement. He hit the button and the doors closed again, locking and causing the environmental controls to hum to life.

  
There was a slight jolt as the Gorilla took off, but then it was just a smooth glide through the air- air he couldn’t even  _ feel _ \- until they reached the next destination. 


	3. Day 3- Time Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette accidentally walks into the future.

Marinette took a deep breath of the fragrant afternoon air as she exited the cafe… or tried to, at least. Once again, she wasn’t watching where she was going, although thankfully she had finally forgotten about embarrassing herself that morning. She was in the middle of texting Alya to meet up, and so didn’t notice that she was about to walk through a glowing portal. But since the portal had been activated almost flush with the cafe’s service entrance, perhaps she could be forgiven for that. 

There hadn’t been an akuma that day- which was great for her continued employment!- so walking into the midst of a very  _ energetic _ superhero fight was not what she expected. She looked up at the sound of the first explosion, then leapt to the side to avoid another one. Taking cover behind a car, she was about to dart into an alley to transform when she was suddenly scooped up willy-nilly and flung over someone’s shoulder. Marinette wasn’t typically the type to scream in scary situations, but she did squeak.

“What, no scream? Well, I’m not complaining. We’ll just get you somewhere safe, and then-” Chat’s familiar voice, not to mention the view of his nicely defined bottom and belt tail, calmed her instantly. At least her partner was already on the scene. Now all she had to do was convince him to leave her somewhere close by…

Chat reached a rooftop out of range of the current battlefield, and set her down. He gave her a brief but reassuring smile and was about to jump away again when he did a double take.

“Marinette?” he asked, wide-eyed. “But when did you-” He looked off into the distance, his eyes narrowing a little, and Marinette broke out in a sweat. Had he seen her earlier? Did he suspect something? The next instant he was checking his baton and then his expression cleared. “Ah. Yes. Okay then!”

He smiled again, wide and comforting. “Don’t worry, everything’s purr-fect… or will be shortly, if I know my Lady... But this akuma brings people back from the past, and it seems you’ve walked into one of the gates he put up all over town. But Miraculous Ladybug should send you right back to where you were, so it’s no cat-tasrophy!”

He grinned and winked, and Marinette’s brain finally registered just  _ how far _ she was looking up at her chaton. He was much broader across the shoulders, too, and his arms had filled out nicely. Marinette blushed when she caught herself actually checking him out, and averted her eyes.

Chat just chuckled, but then his attention was caught by something else and he suddenly whirled, whipping his baton out defensively. But it was only Ladybug- a much older,  _ taller _ Ladybug- with a new suit design that instantly made Marinette wonder why she hadn’t changed her own suit design yet. She was apparently leading the akuma somewhere as Marinette caught sight of a flying figure behind her, screaming incoherently.

“Come on, Chat! I figured it out!” Ladybug yelled as she passed, holding up what looked like a red and black spotted tuning fork. But then she did a double take and missed her footing on the next yo-yo dismount. Marinette cringed and flinched in sympathy as Ladybug took a tumble. In an instant she was back on her feet, though, and leaping over to their rooftop. 

Chat scooped her up again, and they all hid behind some kind of small shed or maintenance building. Ladybug grabbed her shoulders and looked her all over, a stern expression on her face. “Did she do anything to you, Chaton? Try to take your miraculous?”

“No, no! She’s not an amok, my Lady,” Chat soothed. “Check the date.”

Ladybug squinted suspiciously, but pulled her yo-yo out. However, her suspicion faded rapidly. “Oh! It’s today!” She looked up with a grin which Marinette tried to return, however waveringly. “Don’t worry, everything will make much more sense in a little while.” Ladybug winked at her, leaving Marinette wondering what exactly was supposed to make sense. Her day had been pretty normal so far- well, except for the time travel. Ladybug then looked back down at her yo-yo and her eyes widened.

“Crap! It’s almost time for our favorite model to make his appearance. You good here?” she said, looking over at Chat. He gave her his usual two-finger salute, but then both of them leaned in for a quick kiss, leaving Marinette gaping. Although, when she thought about it, she couldn’t remember why seeing Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing was such an unthinkable occurrence for her. Then Ladybug threw out her yo-yo and swung away.

“Wha-?” Marinette said. Chat started to open his mouth, but then Marinette shook her head. “No! Nevermind- I don’t need to know!”

Chat chuckled and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Like milady said, it’ll all make sense in a little while, Minibug.” Marinette’s eyes widened, but before she could panic, he got an unholy grin on his face. He held his gloved hand over the top of her head, moving it horizontally from her to the middle of his chest and back again. “Hey! Look at how short you still are! You’re a fun-sized Marinette! You’re a Fun-inette!”

Marinette glowered at him, crossing her arms. “Just because I’m younger right  _ now _ , doesn’t mean I won’t throw you in the Seine for that after the battle,” she threatened. Chat just laughed, making Marinette pout. She decided to change the subject.

“Okay, so what day  _ is  _ it, because obviously you two knew to expect something like this today, so me knowing won’t change anything.”

Chat held out his baton for her to see. Marinette’s eyebrows rose- apparently she was  _ quite _ a few years in the future. That… could explain a few things.

“So, how long-?” Marinette started to ask, but then the miraculous ladybugs descended on them and Marinette found herself back on the street outside the cafe. 


	4. Day 4- Bender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and his teammates call on their bending abilities to save a Corrupted Bender.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is based on the elemental bending abilities of the A:TLA universe. In keeping with that, I've changed the superhero names to reflect the animal-fusions that also exist in that universe.
> 
> Ladybug= Cricketbird (because a cricket is also a lucky insect)  
> Chat Noir= Sir Pontichat Noir (a play on words- the French pronunciation for serpent puts the stress on the last vowel)  
> Carapace= Caraquack (because turtleducks exist)  
> Rena Rouge= Rena Belette (again, French for Fox-weasel, both cunning and clever animals)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this installment!

Adrien had barely a few moments to recover from the strange experience of being dislodged from his own time- and being rescued by Ladybug no less! An older, much hotter Ladybug…- before a Corrupted Earth-bender started tearing everything apart around him. His image of Ladybug- even her name- morphed into a different configuration in his mind, even as he cursed his luck and ran off, trying to find somewhere marginally safe where he could change into his alternate persona. With an Earth-bender, even a building built with metal wasn’t necessarily safe. By report it was wickedly hard to bend metal, but you never knew who had the will-power, and a Corrupted Bender was typically more powerful than an Uncorrupted one. Adrien was once again thankful he’d made his messenger bag part of his usual “look,” and always stood his ground when Gabriel questioned his constant reliance on it.

Technically, he was supposed to go straight home when a Corrupted Bender attacked the city- his father insisted on it. But who else could help Cricketbird when someone’s spirit was overtaken, if not her steadfast partner Sir Pontichat Noir? Even now, dodging dislodged bricks and uprooted sections of asphalt and cement, Adrien felt himself smirk at his alter ego's name. He was proud of that one. He spotted a plastic waste bin and made for it. With all the rogue benders lately attacking the city, the mayor had decreed (along with many other reforms) that as many metal dumpsters and waste bins as possible be replaced with fiberglass or plastic, reasoning that it was the only material still safe from manipulation by benders. While it was a decent idea, Adrien privately wondered how long that state of affairs would last.

Either way, he opened the lid and jumped in just as the rogue bender swept past. A few more jolts and rumbles, and then the worst was over. Adrien pulled the tightly rolled suit out of the special concealed pocket in his messenger bag. He unrolled it only to have a moment of deep disconnect. The suit didn’t look right, didn’t  _ feel _ right all of a sudden. For an instant he had a vision of… of something. Somewhere else. Almost like a memory, but he had the impression it was very recent. A woman in a Cricketbird suit, only… only it wasn’t the Cricketbird he was familiar with. She was older, and Paris looked… different.  _ Very _ different. Yet, still familiar somehow... 

Thankfully the vision didn’t last long. Everything snapped back into focus and his sudden unease with the suit faded. As much as it shook him a little, he tried to ignore it, quickly putting the suit on over his regular clothes and swaddling his shoes in special coverings. He reached up to muss his hair before putting on the mask. He checked to make sure everything was secure before stashing the bag in the small slit between the plastic waste bin and the wall of the building behind it.

He wasn’t the only one who fought against the spirit controlled benders, and all of them wore disguises, usually choosing an animal of some kind. He felt his own- the snake-cat- gave him considerable intimidation factor. He had sharp plastic claws on the ends of his gloves, and of course his fire-bending imitated the destructive quality of snake venom. Cricketbird, on the other hand, was the luckiest person he’d ever met. In most fights, she’d snatch up a piece of trash, trinket, or random bit of scenery just lying around, declare it her “lucky charm,” and somehow find a way to use it to disable the bender and get in close so she could purge their spirit of the corrupting influence. Of all of them, she was the only one who knew the technique. 

Sometimes, Adrien wondered if she were the Avatar in disguise. But no one had seen an Avatar for at least 200 years, and most thought the cycle had ended or been interrupted somehow. Adrien wasn’t sure about that, especially since he’d been fighting with Cricketbird. But she’d never shown any indication that she could control anything but her own element of Air.

Either way, Avatar or not, she needed his help right now. They were the first two to rise against the Corrupted, so their partnership was on another level, even though they’d allowed and even  _ asked _ others to join the fight. 

Sir Pontichat Noir clambered as quickly as he could over the rubble, tracking the Corrupted bender through the easy medium of following the path of destruction. It was a good thing one of the members of their team was also an Earth-bender. Caraquack would help put everything to rights after the battle was over. 

It wasn’t long before Sir Pontichat caught up to the fight in progress. Cricketbird and Caraquack were already on the scene, Caraquack trying to suppress and deflect the Corrupted bender’s projectiles, shielding the surrounding buildings, and doing just fine holding his own. Sir Pontichat joined them, circling around to Cricketbird’s position. She was glancing around in a way he recognized and he knew it wouldn’t be long before she found something to help her- to help  _ them _ \- win the fight.

“Where do you need me, bugaboo?” he said, sidling up to her. Cricketbird acknowledged him with a nod and a roll of her eyes for the nickname.

“Sorry, scaly-cat, but what we really need to do is get him off the ground, and that calls for Air, more than fire. Can you hold down this position so I can get up there?” she asked, nodding toward a fairly intact building slightly behind the Corrupted’s position. “Try to keep her distracted so she doesn’t tear the building down under my feet, okay?”

“Done, and done,” Sir Pontichat said, giving her a two-finger salute. Again, there was a strange sense of deja-vu about the simple action, but he shook it off. He needed all his wits about him if he was going to get through this fight without significant injuries. Rena Belette knew some Healing, but she was still learning, and it took time- time Pontichat usually didn’t have. And he couldn’t go home with injuries he couldn’t explain when he was supposed to be avoiding the Corrupted fights.

Cricketbird leaped away, her jumping enhanced by the springs attached to her calves. Sir Pontichat remembered their first few fights, when she’d still be learning to use them. She’d launched herself into him, walls, the pavement… but now, she moved in them with the grace of a leopard-deer. In a few moments she was out of sight. Sir Pontichat started zig-zagging around the area, drawing the Corrupted’s attention with fire bursts. Caraquack proved just as quick on the uptake as usual and started pelting the Corrupted from wherever Pontichat  _ wasn’t _ attacking. Pontichat used every bit of his parkour skills to dodge, run, and leap over the torn-up street without getting hit or boxed in. Even so, he had to use fire-blasts to deflect incoming rocks and break out of a potential trap several times before a whirlwind descended on the Corrupted. It swept her up, breaking her connection with the earth, and bore her over to where Cricketbird stood on the roof of her chosen building. She reached into the whirlwind and grasped an arm, using it to stabilize the Corrupted so she could reach up and touch her head as well.

Sir Pontichat and Caraquack watched in their usual awe as the Corrupted started glowing in two different colors- her body a neon green that they’d seen from other Earth-benders, but with a virulent orange head. The orange clearly didn’t belong, and was creeping slowly down the neck as well. Cricketbird, in turn, glowed a warm yellow. Slowly, her color invaded the other’s, though only up the arm she grasped, and spreading out from her hand on her head. The yellow overcame the orange, then receded, leaving healthy green in its wake.

Sir Pontichat often felt guilty for his own Fire-bending during this process. The one time Cricketbird had had trouble purging a Corrupted was when it was also a Fire-bender- that time it had taken nearly half an hour for her to find the invading spirit and overcome it, and she’d been exhausted afterwards. It was clearly a Fire-bender who was corrupting people, and everytime Sir Pontichat watched Cricketbird purge someone, it made him that much more determined to find the culprit and make sure they wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else ever again.

Fire-benders were already looked at sideways by many, since their powers were almost always destructive and could quickly run out of control. It was one of the reasons Gabriel insisted Adrien Agreste was a non-bender, and forbade him to bend in public, or even very much at home, beyond honing his ability to suppress the power. It had taken Sir Pontichat Noir almost a year of fighting the Corrupted to really gain power and confidence in his Fire-bending.

After making sure Cricketbird didn’t need him for anything else, Sir Pontichat Noir slipped off. Caraquack was busy restoring the road and buildings, joined after a while by other Earth-benders if the increased sounds of thumping and bumping behind him were any indication. It was another thing Sir Pontichat felt guilty about. He might be able to provide support during a fight, but he had never yet been able to help clean up afterwards. Fire was a good bending ability- it could keep people warm and clear a path, but in the end, it was destructive in its very nature. About the only way it could be said to help create anything was to refine other materials, to make earth even harder in the form of brick and ceramics, or to power machines that created other things.

Fortunately, the Earth-bending crew was working from the end of the rampaging zone backward, which meant that the area where Sir Pontichat Noir had first appeared was still relatively deserted. It made it much easier for him to creep back into the original alley, retrieve his messenger bag, and turn back into Adrien Agreste. Even then, Adrien took some back alleys away from the location so he could rejoin the crowds in a busier part of town. 

He didn’t perceive the nearly invisible wave that swept over him and his surroundings, morphing the buildings and people into new shapes and forms. His memories were subtly edited, removing all reference to elemental bending and Corrupted Benders, and replacing those with references to akumas and Miraculous powers. It was so swift and subtle that once again, neither Adrien nor anyone around him noticed.


	5. Day 5- Bed Sharing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a mix-up at the hotel.

Marinette sighed wearily. First the embarrassment at work, then the time travel, and… had there been an akuma battle? She couldn’t even remember at this point. It had been a long day, that’s all. And of course it just had to be the day before the Small Business Convention. It was something Marinette had been looking forward to, and she had the setup and layout of her booth all planned out. She’d even rented a hotel room in the same hotel that was hosting it, just so she wouldn’t run into unexpected morning traffic, and thus be running late and more anxious than usual.

Now, she just had to gather everything up and-

Marinette paused, her eye caught by Tikki. The little kwami was zipping from flower pot to flower pot, a sure sign that she was upset about something.

“Tikki?” Marinette asked, going over to the window where Tikki’s little garden grew. “What’s wrong?”

Tikki paused briefly and then zipped around Marinette in a tightening spiral before landing in Marinette’s cupped hands.

“I… I don’t know,” she said plaintively. “Something is wrong, but… but I don’t know what it is! I just have a bad feeling.”

“Hm,” Marinette said, frowning. Things didn’t usually affect Tikki unless they were immediate dangers. “Do you think we ought to go out patrolling? We’re not on the schedule for tonight, though, and Chat might ask questions if he sees us.”

Tikki squirmed a little, back to hovering back and forth, though slower than before. “I… no.”

“Are you sure?”

“No… no, this is,” Tikki stopped, frustrated. “If I had even a little bit of an idea on what to look for, I’d say yes, but I don’t.” She gave her whole body a shake and came up with an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry about it. You are Ladybug after all! Whatever is wrong, I’m sure we’ll catch on in time to do something about it. And in the meantime, you have that convention to go to tomorrow!”

Marinette smiled back. She was still worried, of course- it had been years since Tikki’s reassurances could wipe the existence of a problem entirely from her mind- but she trusted the kwami and appreciated her faith in her. And they had managed to defeat all the akumas (and other villains) sent against them to date.

\----

Marinette snuggled into the hotel blankets, utterly exhausted. Her parents had helped her get everything packed into their delivery van and even agreed to let her drive it to the hotel so she’d have everything she needed to set up right there in the morning. Still, it had been a very long day. After taking a bath to relax, Marinette eagerly went to bed, secure that she’d done everything humanly possible to prepare for the morning.

\----

Adrien sighed heavily as he accepted the hotel room key card from the desk clerk. This Small Business Convention wasn’t his idea of fun, but Father was insisting he spend the whole day there, as Gabriel’s representative, checking out any competition, and making as many business friends as possible. Gabriel might be a big name in fashion, but it was the ‘little people’ as Gabriel called them, who made everything run smoothly- caterers, professional launderers, and etc. And obviously Gabriel himself was far too important to ever stoop to paying attention to the ‘little people.’

Still, at least he’d managed to convince Father to spring for a hotel room- after the last minute photoshoot that had run  _ far _ too late, not to mention the patrol he’d had to rush through, he wanted to actually sleep in for once and not face judgement from either Father or Nathalie. Both of them would have expected him to wake up extra early and arrive before the convention even opened, but Adrien knew that it would be better for him to arrive a little later, when the vendors would be warmed-up from interacting with a few other people first.

He let himself into his room, not bothering to turn on the lights. He didn’t have any luggage except a dress bag that he fumbled into the small closet he’d seen as he opened the room door, moving mostly by feel. Sighing again, he moved further into the room, toeing his shoes off. As soon as he felt the tell tale press of the bed against his lower legs, he flung himself onto the bed… only to get a sharp blow to the face, along with a decidedly feminine shriek in his ear. Rolling off the lump under the covers and back to his feet, he tried to regain his bearings. 

“What?” he said. “Who are you? What are you doing in my room?” The shock of it all sent adrenaline shooting through his system, waking him back up instantly.

“Your room? This is  _ my _ room, thank you very much!” came the indignant reply. 

By now Adrien’s eyes had adjusted to the relative darkness in the room, helped along by the little sliver of light coming in from under the curtains over the window. The room wasn’t large- just big enough for a double bed, the bedside table and a small table and chair. There was a TV mounted to the wall opposite the bed, but nothing under it.

Adrien reached over and turned on the lamp. Sleepy blue eyes glared and squinted back at him. The girl- woman- sat up in bed. Now that the lights were on, Adrien could see other signs of her habitation- shoes on the floor, a purse sitting in the chair by the window, a portfolio and small overnight bag sitting on the table itself.

“I- I’m so sorry,” he said, beginning to feel foolish. “I just checked in, and this is the room they gave me.”

“Well this is  _ my _ room,” the woman grumped, folding her arms across her chest. “Now, if you don’t leave, I’m calling the front desk, and then the police.” Adrien noted she already had her cellphone in her hand, still plugged into the charging cable that was likewise plugged into the USB socket on the base of the lamp.

Adrien held his hands up. “No, no, I’ll leave, don’t worry.”

He quickly moved past the bed, scooping his shoes up and had already pulled the room door open when he remembered the dress bag. “Sorry,” he muttered again, as he opened the closet door and grabbed it. She’d already turned the lamp back off. He thought about wishing her a good night, but figured he’d already ruined it for her and that would just be rubbing it in. So instead he just left.

Back at the front desk, the attendant was defensive, though Adrien suspected he was trying to come across as incensed on his behalf.

“There shouldn’t  _ be _ anyone in that room,” he muttered, typing on his keyboard. “There!” he said in triumph. “The last guest in that room checked out this morning, and while that room was reserved for someone else for tonight, they never checked in. So of course, it should have been free for you.” He sighed in irritation and Adrien suppressed his own sigh. “I really don’t know how this happened.”

“Look, I just need a different room for the night, okay? It’s really late,” he said, trying to hurry the process along. But the attendant was now on a mission- he called the night manager out of her office. When that individual had been apprised of the situation, she looked briefly thunderous, and then smoothed out her expression with professional ease.

“I’m so sorry for this Mr. Agreste. I know our hotel doesn’t usually cater to the upper class, and I’d really have liked your first impression to be a much better one than this. We’ll get a new room for you, but in the meantime, please come with me. I can’t undo this bad first impression, but hopefully I can show you how we deal with freeloaders who bypass our security.”

“No, really, that’s not necessary,” Adrien tried to say, but she just swept past him to the elevators. Perhaps if Adrien had been less tired, he would have put up more of a fight, but as it was, his early training in shutting-up and coming-along asserted itself. 

So it was that he found himself back outside the fateful hotel room door, with the night manager knocking loudly on it. At- he checked his watch and cringed- nearly 2 am. Whoever was in that room was  _ not _ going to have fond memories of their brief encounter with Adrien Agreste.

\----

Marinette had just gotten over her previous irritation and gone back to sleep when there was a sudden pounding on her door. She jerked up, groaning. The pounding came again, and she was just about to slide out of bed when she heard the magnetic lock disengaging and the door opened and the lights came on.

“Alright you, up, up, up! You can’t stay here.” 

Marinette stared blearily at a middle-aged woman in a hotel uniform. “What?”

“You’re not supposed to be in here, this room is let to someone else. Now, we won’t press charges if you leave willingly, but I am prepared to call the police if you try to force the issue.”

Unbelievable. That jerk from earlier must have gone down to the front desk and complained. 

“I paid for this room,” Marinette insisted. “I checked in at 9, and I’ve been asleep since 10:30.”

“This room has been unbooked since the last guest checked out this morning.”

Marinette rubbed her forehead. It was way too early in the morning to deal with this. “Look, you want to see my reservation? Fine. Sure.” She got out of bed and walked over to her purse, pulling out the receipt the desk clerk had given her, along with the little paper packet with her room keys. “I reserved a room last month under the name Dupain-Cheng, and as you can see, I checked in around 9 pm.”

She handed the receipt to the woman, who reluctantly took them. She studied the paper minutely before checking and double checking the room number written on the keycard packet. Then she sighed heavily and uttered a begrudging apology. Marinette took her things back and stowed them in her purse before following the woman to the door, getting a good look at the sheepish-looking guy standing in the hallway.

He certainly bore some resemblance to the man who had unceremoniously dropped on top of her earlier, but she’d been too recently asleep to really recognize him. Still, given his expression, it seemed likely that he was the same one. Marinette glared at him, before starting to shut the door in his face.

She just caught the beginning of the woman’s apology to him- which sounded  _ much _ more sincere than the one  _ she’d _ received. 

“Again, I’m so sorry for the mix-up Mr. Agreste, something must have-”

The shutting door cut off the rest of what she was saying, but Marinette’s mind suddenly went into full-time panic mode. Gabriel Agreste was a big name in fashion circles- circles she was trying to break into, in her own small way- and now she’d inadvertently caused him considerable inconvenience and even threatened to call the police on him! Of course, she had been justified to do so, but still…

Groaning, Marinette put her ear to the door to see if they were still outside. But she heard nothing, so she cautiously opened the door and, seeing no one, slipped the Do Not Disturb sign onto the outer door knob before closing the door again and engaging the chain-lock. Hopefully that would assure no more interruptions until her alarm went off. But given that she’d just made an enemy out of  _ Gabriel Agreste _ , she rather doubted she would be getting any more sleep that night.

Still, she flicked the lights off and stumbled back to bed, falling face first into her pillow and trying vainly to regain some semblance of the sleepiness she’d felt just a little while ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, look, I *know* there was supposed to be more bed-sharing than this, but *technically* they were both on the same bed at the same time, so...


	6. Day 6- Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the interrupted night.

Marinette didn’t know what was worse- being woken up repeatedly in the rudest of fashions, accidentally making an enemy of one of her icons, or finally getting out of bed and ready for the day, only to find a strange dress bag in the hotel closet instead of the one she’d brought. She didn’t even have time to start panicking before Tikki was right there claiming that Mr. Agreste must have taken hers by mistake last night.

She could have rushed home for a different outfit, but she was not about to just randomly gift one of her favorite creations to Mr. Agreste. And besides, she had spent a long time picking out the perfect outfit for this event- something to showcase her own talent of design and execution while still remaining professional enough for the exhibition. Of course, once she decided to try and get it back, it still took at least 20 minutes of talking herself into calling down to the front desk to discover which room he was staying in. 

Unfortunately, the rude manager from the night before was still on duty, and she flatly refused to give Marinette either the room number or the room’s phone number. 

“I simply can’t have anyone disturbing Mr. Agreste this early in the morning, not after what happened with his room last night,” she said firmly.

“You mean  _ my _ room,” Marinette said, pushing back.

“Well… I suppose,” the manager grudgingly agreed. “But since you weren’t in the computer, it’s really not our fault. And a quality guest like Mr. Agreste really needs to have the best possible experience we can provide. I’m sure you understand.”

Marinette gritted her teeth. “Of course I understand! I understand that you don’t seem the least bit worried about what kind of experience  _ I’m _ having,” she said, trying to keep her tone level. “You’re going to have to put some effort in, however, because due to your negligence, or faulty software, or  _ whatever _ the problem was, I am missing my clothes. And so is your oh-so-important Mr. Agreste, who left  _ his _ dress bag in my closet in exchange for mine. So unless you want to be responsible for Mr. Agreste appearing in public in a completely unsuitable style, I suggest you arrange some way for us to exchange clothing.”

“... oh.”

“Within the hour,” Marinette said firmly.

“Of-of course.”

Marinette waited just to see if another half-hearted apology would be forthcoming, but the line just went dead. Rolling her eyes, she made a mental note to leave an absolutely scathing review online, and sat down at the little table to look through her portfolio one last time while she waited.

\----

Despite his determination to sleep in, Adrien woke up once the sun started shining in around the curtains. He was used to rising early, no matter how late he’d gotten to bed the night before. So he lounged in bed as long as he could physically stand it, then grudgingly got up and took a shower. But once he was toweled off, he discovered that the dress bag hanging in his closet was not his own. It took only a moment to think of what must have happened. The tenant of the other room must also have hung a dress bag in the closet, and in the dark he had grabbed the wrong one. He hadn’t noticed the night before because both of them were black. But the one he held was missing the golden butterfly of the Gabriel brand on the left shoulder.

Curious, he started to unzip the bag before stopping and zipping it back up. He really had no business peeking into someone else’s luggage. After practically assaulting the woman last night, he really didn’t need to cross any more lines. Instead, he hung the bag back up and called the front desk.

“Oh thank goodness, Mr. Agreste! I know you had a late night, and then there was all that unpleasantness with the occupant of your original room, so I didn’t wish to disturb you in any way, but I’m afraid there has been a mix-up with some luggage.”

Adrien’s eyebrows rose. “Yes, I just discovered that myself.” He wondered just when the manager had heard about the problem. “I hope that woman hasn’t been waiting for too long…” he said.

“Oh, I’m sure she’s just fine,” the manager said, her tone dismissive. “I’ll just send someone up to your room to pick up the bag, if that’s alright. I’m afraid the other person refused to relinquish your luggage until we heard from you.”

Warning bells rang in Adrien’s mind. It seemed the manager had been busy making the situation worse than it had to be. “You could have called, or even come knocking on the door,” he said, “I was awake. And I’d really hate for this woman to be put to any more trouble because of me. I caused enough for her last night. How long has she been waiting for her clothes?”

“Please don’t worry about it Mr. Agreste, your comfort-”

_ “How long.” _

The manager started stammering. “O-only an hour... and a half…”

“An hour and a half?” Adrien repeated, incredulous. “Just how long were you going to make her wait if I hadn’t called?” He stopped himself with a sigh. “You know what, nevermind. Just… just get someone up here so we can exchange bags.”

He put the receiver down and dragged a hand over his face. “Plagg? We are never staying here again.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why we had to stay here in the first place. There’s no fridge for my camembert!”

“It’s the same hotel that’s hosting the convention, so it was just-”

Adrien turned around, only to see Plagg floating out of the closet with the other dress bag, fully unzipped and with the shoulders of the bag tucked behind the hanger, revealing a very nice pink ensemble. It appeared to be a woman’s dress suit, with an ivory silk blouse underneath. The lapels were faced with a polka-dotted material that matched the color of the jacket and skirt.

“Plagg! We shouldn’t be going through this woman’s things! We’ve caused her enough trouble.”

“I don’t know what you’re worried about,” Plagg said, obligingly dropping the bag as Adrien made a grab for the hanger. “It’s not like she’s going to know we looked.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” Adrien insisted. He made sure the suit hadn’t suffered any damage, then carefully put the suit back in the bag and zipped it up. Just in time, too, because there was the promised knock on the door.

Adrien handed the bag over and waited impatiently for the hotel employee to return with his own clothes. It wasn’t until he heard the second knock on his door that he realized he probably should have written her some kind of apology note- both for waking her up twice the night before, and for accidentally stealing her clothes. He couldn’t really apologize for how the hotel was treating her, but he could have at least done that. Sighing to himself, he quickly got dressed and left to find some breakfast. He had the melancholy suspicion he had, thanks to the manager’s obvious bias in his favor, managed to make an enemy for life.


	7. Day 7- Royalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Adrien recognizes someone in the marketplace.

Prince Adrien walked down the main street of the marketplace, perusing the wares. It was one of the King’s orders that he go and observe the populace on a regular basis, to be the Face of the Crown, as it were. So here he was, wandering among the common folk, though with a regrettable bevy of courtiers as a shield. 

He would much rather have donned his disguise as Chat Noir, that infamous mischievous cat, and drawn attention that way. As Prince he could not joke and laugh with anyone, especially not that pretty maid tending a cloth-merchant’s stall. Some simple shirts were on display, although there was also a very nice embroidered tunic laced onto a dummy. 

Having caught his eye, Adrien decided to make that his excuse to go over and attempt a conversation. But as he drew nearer he realized that self-same pretty maid might have a grudge against him. He had inadvertently caused her trouble the previous night, when there had been a mistake made on who had rights to occupy a certain room in an Inn. Naturally, given his status, the Landlord’s wife had deemed his claim superior and had thrown the maid out, though she had paid for the room in good coin. 

Prince Adrien really had tried to make amends, but the girl had been- he felt- rightfully incensed. As he approached her stall now, he cursed the presence of his courtiers doubly, for he could not make an apology for the inconvenience in public like this without listening ears turning the affair into something it really was not. She clearly recognized him, though the anger on her face turned to mortification as she took in his rich raiment, and the crest embroidered on his left shoulder. He had been wearing traveling clothes the other evening, and so she probably mistook him for a rich merchant or some such. 

The maid fell into a deep, surprisingly graceful curtsey as he came within polite speaking distance, and his mental estimation of her class rose a few notches. This was not some simple maiden, but probably the daughter of a well-to-do middle class man. She’d had some education, at any rate. He felt worse, thinking he’d deprived a truly innocent maid of a respectable lodging the night before.

Well, perhaps he could start to make amends by ordering some new uniform tunics for the members of his personal household staff. The tunic on display was made of sturdy cloth, though not particularly fine. He would have to order a better quality, but that, too, would raise the prestige of the establishment she worked for, and the embroidery was really very well done. He knew some court ladies who could not do better, and most did much worse and called it elegant.

“This tunic,” Prince Adrien said, “Is it typical of the quality of work you produce?”

The maid nodded slowly. “Yes, your highness. Papa sells the cloth, but I do the sewing and embroidery.” Her face flushed again. “The cloth I have here is not as fine as what we  _ can _ get, my lord. We have a f-family connection that provides us with silk and fine linen at very reasonable cost.”

Prince Adrien’s eyebrows rose, and he noticed the slight stutter on the words ‘family connection.’ He took in her rather unusual features- the shape of her eyes was particularly telling, though her coloring was common enough, with black hair, blue eyes, and a rosy complexion.

“Thank you,” he replied politely, passing over her probable parentage. He himself had no objection to mixed marriages, though there were very vehement voices in the court which called them unnatural, and the offspring thereof worse than cursed. He himself refused to entertain such notions. “What colors can you get? I am thinking of new tunics for my personal household, separate from that of the King.”

Still blushing, the maid brought forth a rather ingenious little book, in which there were pieces of cloth cut into squares. The book itself was made of thick canvas, and on each ‘page’ were a rainbow of colors. Each square of cloth was stitched to the page along the top edge, leaving the bottom and sides free to overlap with other squares beneath it. He quickly caught on to the rules of the book- each page had one type of fabric, and all the colors they could procure for that type.

Adrien found himself genuinely smiling. “This is ingenious! Look, Bourgeois, here are all one kind of fabric and you may even feel the texture and examine the color if you wish. Remarkable! I have not seen the like before.”

“It’s not all that remarkable,” the maid murmured under her breath, clearly thinking he could not hear her, since she left off the honorific. The Prince’s grin widened. There were so few people willing to be cheeky in his presence...

“Very well. Here are my house colors,” he said, pointing to squares of blue and ivory in fine linen. “I should wish to order six tunics of fine linen, various sizes, in cloth of blue, with my personal crest in ivory on the left breast.”

“I- I shall need to take measurements, your highness,” the maid said. She still blushed, but did her best to stand tall and speak clearly. He liked that about her. And if her work proved to be as exceptional as he thought it would be, perhaps he might engage her as his personal seamstress. There was something about her… a resemblance he was hard put to it to name. But now was not the time for dallying, and he did not wish to call further attention to her and cause unwelcome speculation. Perhaps the elusive and mysterious Coccinelle could help him navigate her hire without causing gossip the next time they ran into each other on their nightly excursions.

“Of course. Give your name to Captain Raincomprix here, and he will let the gate-guards know to pass you through. Come tomorrow, if you will.”

She curtsied very deeply, and he nodded in acknowledgment before turning away, knowing that Raincomprix would get all the information he required. His attention was caught by another woman staring at the scene before her with a strange kind of intensity. Her hair was coiffed, and she wore the clothes of a respectable matron, but her eyes were strange. He was sure he had never seen anyone with eyes of that color before.

He frowned at her, and instead of lowering her eyes and perhaps dropping a curtsey in apology, she smiled. A pulse of… something… suddenly emanated from her, passing silently over the marketplace and everything in it. Prince Adrien stiffened as it passed over him as well…

\----

Adrien moved on from MDC’s booth, happy that he had been able to clear up any misunderstandings caused by the truly awful manager. He was interested in Miss Dupain-Cheng’s designs as well, and intended to bring them to his father’s attention. It was odd, though… it was almost like he should  _ know _ her, but he couldn’t think of where he’d seen her before. Then it hit him- the cafe! She was the cute waitress from the cafe! 

Adrien had nominally attached himself to Mayor Bourgeois' train, since they’d arrived at the same time. It made him stick out less. Yet, he abandoned that now, wheeling away and back toward her booth without a second thought.

Miss Dupain-Cheng looked startled at his quick return, but gave him a much more genuine smile than the one he’d first received. 

“You’re that waitress!” Adrien blurted out. “You work at that cafe on --th Street, right? That’s where I’ve seen you before!” He grinned at her, delighted with finally being able to place where he knew her from, and completely forgetting that they’d had the most awkward encounter only the day before. Capped by him falling on top of her while she slept last night.

She flushed slightly, but stood her ground. “I do, yes.”

“But why? These designs are really good.”

“My work is mostly commission, and commissions can be… unreliable. I work part-time at the cafe to build up an emergency fund- not that it’s any of your business.”

Adrien nodded. “Ah, I see. Very smart! Well…” he grinned cheekily. “You had me convinced earlier, but this just clinches it… consider me a regular from now on!”

\----

Neither of them noticed the woman at the wholesale herb and spice booth across the way, though she eyed them narrowly while she sniffed a vial of oregano. The woman was getting frustrated and impatient. She was an avid reader, who longed to truly experience some of the alternate universes she read about. Real life was so comparably dull… Hawkmoth had indulged her when she got frustrated once again at the banality of her life. But of course, she wasn’t here just to play around. Her task was to change reality to see who would always be drawn together. She could feel the magnetism between these two, yet they acted like they had no notion of anything relating to fighting akumas, or superhero identities. 

She shook her head and moved on. Paris was a big city, and she felt pulls from others as well. All things being equal, the attraction these two created wasn’t any bigger or stronger than anyone else’s. And surely Ladybug and Chat Noir would have the strongest pull of them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, there is a slight discrepancy in what Adrien remembers happening while he's a Prince. The realities of that AU would be that Marinette would be unceremoniously thrown out to accommodate the Prince. Just go with it, please?


	8. Day 8- Secret Dating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette comes to Adrien's rescue.

Marinette had no idea what she was doing or even what was going on. One moment she was convinced that she’d gravely offended Gabriel Agreste, who had rudely fallen on top of her while she was sleeping the night before, and the next she’s feeling disoriented and confused because the man she thought was  _ Gabriel _ Agreste actually turned out to be his son,  _ Adrien _ Agreste. 

Marinette really felt like that was something she should have known. Why didn’t she know that before? Adrien was a public figure! His face was all over billboards on a regular basis! He featured in every Gabriel magazine, and his ads were in most other magazines as well. She should have been able to recognize him, or even remember that Gabriel had a son, and she should have noticed that the man last night looked too young to be Gabriel himself. She remembered all of that as soon as the man introduced himself properly, so why hadn’t she remembered it before?

On top of that confusion, was the fact that not only was he  _ not _ offended by last night’s mistake,  _ he was the same hot model from the cafe! _ Marinette knew she was scatterbrained sometimes, but surely even  _ she _ couldn’t forget something like that!

Something was definitely rotten in the state of Denmark. Or Paris, at any rate. And it was probably due to some kind of akuma. This one, though, was apparently very subtle. Marinette continued to make small talk with this unfairly hot and inexplicably interested model while she tried to sort out what was going on and how she really felt. The manipulation of her own emotions wasn’t entirely out of the picture if there was an akuma involved. Then someone else called his name and annoyance and distaste flitted over his face before he smoothed out his expression into something polite.

The woman who’d called his name was probably another model, someone he worked with- she was tall and beautiful and projected an air of, not just confidence, but possessiveness. She latched onto Adrien’s arm as if she was a cat, and he was a scratching post. Marinette’s eyes flicked to his face again, but while his expression didn’t waver, he was looking anywhere but her- which in itself was a huge warning sign. He was clearly used to this behavior and as clearly wished it wasn’t happening.

“Adrien! Fancy meeting you here!” The brunette simpered, completely ignoring Marinette.

“It should hardly be a surprise to you, Lila,” Adrien answered calmly. “I’m sure you  _ overheard _ Nathalie giving me my schedule for today after last night’s photoshoot.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow at the emphasis on ‘overheard,’ turning slightly away from them to rearrange some of the jewelry on the table, trying to decide which piece would best suit the woman. She had warm coloring, so gold or brass toned, maybe copper… Marinette suppressed a smile as Lila sputtered a bit.

“You know I’m just concerned about your health, Adrien,” Lila finally cooed at him. Marinette could practically hear her pout. “Your father works you awfully hard, and I almost never see you outside of work.”

“If you’re so concerned about it, perhaps you should be a little more cooperative during our photoshoots so they don’t drag on for forever.”

The woman named Lila laughed, “But Adrien, you know your father relies on me to make sure all our pictures together are just to die for!”

By this time Marinette had finished straightening, and had picked out something she thought would suit the woman. There was currently a mania for ocean-themed jewelry, and an eight-stranded gold chain bracelet with an octopus charm would suit Lila. She picked it up and turned back to them, just in time to see Adrien looking pointedly away from Lila as the woman in question tried to plaster herself to his side, with her face tilted up in what was probably supposed to be an inviting way.

Marinette blinked at this blatant display, but she’d already decided to interfere, so she spoke up anyway. Ironically, Lila’s current position made the octopus charm even more fitting for her. Marinette could practically see the invisible tentacles she was trying to wind around her fellow model.

“This bracelet would suit you, Madame,” Marinette said, in her best salesperson tone. “The delicate gold chains compliment without overwhelming, and the charm in the shape of an octopus is the latest trend.” She draped the bracelet over a stand she’d made herself and held it out for her to see. 

Lila looked at Marinette blankly, as if surprised to find her standing there. Her mouth opened a little, and she actually allowed an inch of space to open up between herself and her prey. Marinette noticed but tried not to show her satisfaction. She was conscious of Adrien turning his head to look at her, too, but she didn’t take her focus off the woman in front of her.

“Oh! Ah…” Lila’s posture and expression both softened, conveying apology. “I’m so sorry. How rude of me to ignore you like that.” One hand flew to her chest, presumably in embarrassment, but Marinette had seen that maneuver too many times before to believe it. She was simply trying to draw attention to her ‘assets.’ “I just saw my Adrien here, and everything else vanished! You know how it is when you’re in love,” Lila simpered, throwing an adoring look towards Adrien.

Adrien snorted. “We are not dating,” he said firmly, making eye contact with Marinette and gesturing between himself and Lila.

“Well… not  _ officially, _ ” Lila in a lowered tone, with a coy look and a wink.

“Not officially, and  _ not at all _ ,” Adrien clarified. “Not even a little bit.”

“That’s right!” Lila said brightly, smiling and winking again. “Not dating officially, or at all!” 

Yet, despite agreeing with Adrien, she tried to cozy up to him again. Adrien leaned away from her.

Marinette narrowed her eyes. This could be a clever plot to throw sand in the eyes of the paparazzi, but  _ she _ hardly counted as paparazzi, and it was hard not to notice the thinly veiled disgust in Adrien’s eyes. 

“Oh, don’t worry,” she heard herself say. “I know all about that.”

\----

For the second time in two days, Adrien was surprised to the point of being stunned by this woman. Most people, when confronted by Lila’s well practiced acting and lies, rolled over and believed every little thing out of her mouth. That was why he was so determined to make it clear to Miss Dupain-Cheng that there was nothing between him and Lila. Yet Lila, of course, had managed to make his firm declaration sound like nothing more than a cover up. She was trying to imply they were dating in secret, and he had been just about to deny that categorically when the woman he had a  _ real _ interest in took charge of the conversation.

“Oh, don’t worry. I know all about that,” she said with a sweet smile. “I was trying to be discreet earlier, but now that you’ve shown you recognize me, I can be more open. Right, Adrien?”

Adrien quickly nodded, even though he had no idea what this woman was planning, and turned to see Lila’s reaction.

“Recognize you?” Lila asked in some hesitation. Adrien had to give her credit for acting. Anyone else would have put scorn in that question, trying to put this interloper in her place, but Lila didn’t know what she was up against, and was playing it safe with a sweeter tone.

“Of course!” MDC said (at some point he should really learn her first name). “Adrien talks about you all the time- you know, how  _ professional _ you are at photoshoots, and how you play along like you really do like him. We’re both grateful, you know. In fact, why don’t I make you a gift of this bracelet? It’s the least I can do after you’ve selflessly taken so much of the heat off him.”

Adrien felt like proposing on the spot. He watched this woman whom he barely knew, whose night he had ruined, wrap the thin bracelet in tissue paper and produce a small velvet bag with her initials embroidered on it. She folded the tissue and put it inside the bag, drawing it shut, and then held it out to Lila with a kind smile. And all the while, Lila stood there, dumbfounded, with nothing to say for once. It was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever done for him.

When MDC held out the little pouch, Lila reached for it, inadvertently releasing his arm. Adrien flexed it subtly to shake off her touch.

“Well… thank you. Although... I’m not really sure what I’m thanking you for,” Lila said, actually sounding genuine for once in her surprise. MDC raised her eyebrows.

“You, covering for Adrien and me, of course,” she replied, with the warmest of smiles.

Lila choked. Then she whipped her head around to glare at Adrien. Adrien called on all his experience and produced the warmest of smiles, though he felt another little zing of surprise himself. But he was more than happy to roll with it. 

“You really are the best of  _ friends _ ,” he said, digging deep into his minimal store of fond memories for inspiration. “M and I…” he trailed off as he floundered for something to say to support the story she was building.

Once again MDC came to his rescue. “It’s so comforting to know Adrien has someone to ward off the opportunistic until my brand gets off the ground and we can go public. Naturally, neither of us want anyone thinking I’m only dating Adrien to get to his father, or his father’s company.”

“Right,” Adrien corroborated, sending MDC an even warmer- and far more genuine- smile. “M’s designs are amazing, and I want her to get the recognition and acclaim she deserves, instead of having people think Father is either using  _ me _ to get  _ her _ on his design team, or that  _ she’s _ using  _ me _ for the same purpose. Plus, you know how adamant Father is that I remain at least outwardly ‘available’ so my fans will stay happy and keep buying his clothes.”

Lila’s mouth tightened ominously, but once again, M (dang it, he really,  _ really _ needed to learn her first name- maybe she had business cards around here somewhere?) defused her in the only possible way- she praised her.

“So really,  _ thank you. _ I just can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. You know, most girls would totally take advantage of a situation like this, but… I know Adrien and I can trust you.” MDC smiled warmly and opened her arms, hugging Lila before she could do anything about it. 

“Think nothing of it,” Lila said breathlessly. Adrien knew her well enough to know that her social instincts were currently at war. She probably wanted to verbally cut M into bite sized chunks, but M was also a person currently offering the praise and adoration she craved. “Of course, I... you know I’d do anything for Adrien.”

“Well,  _ I _ appreciate you, too,” MDC said, finally stepping back. “We’ll definitely have to get together some time. Oooh, maybe you can join us for dinner some time! It’ll look less suspicious if it’s a group of three, don’t you think? Besides,” M said, with a little wink, “sometimes it’s just as well to have a  _ chaperone _ , you know?”

Adrien had to hide a huge grin as Lila choked for the second time and started coughing. “Are you okay?” he asked, faking concern. “And oh hey, isn’t that Claudio over there?” 

Adrien knew he was far from Lila’s only target, and the handsome Italian model was the perfect distraction.

“Oh yes, I think it is. Well, I guess I’ll just go over and say hello,” Lila said, once she recovered. “I know we were supposed to have lunch, Adrien, but I don’t think I can pass up the opportunity to speak my native language with someone instead.” She sighed, falling back into her usual persona. “I get so homesick sometimes.”

“You poor thing!” MDC cut in. “Yes, of course, go on! I’m sure Adrien would be only too happy to let you cancel at the last minute.”

“Well, it would look good for my cover, but I guess I’ll just have to make do with my actual girlfriend,” Adrien said, daring to move closer to MDC and reach out to gently touch her arm. She blinked before smiling up at him. Apparently this small display of affection was too much for Lila, though.

“Thank you for the bracelet,” she huffed and marched off, slowing and shifting to a swaying walk as she approached her alternative target. As she did, there was an almost imperceptible  _ shift _ in the air...


	9. Day 9- University

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's this? A different set of POVs??

Gabriel looked up as his atelier melted away until he was standing in the center of the Dean’s office at ESMOD. He recognized the office, it was even decorated the same as when he had attended- which likely meant the akuma- he had named her Universal- was taking the easy way and creating her landscape from the memories and imaginings of the people affected. Given the setting, she had probably thrust everyone in Paris into some kind of University life. Apparently, he was to be the stern and forbidding Dean whom all the students feared.

He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He hadn’t really counted on this akuma being so… quiet. It had been nearly two full days already and there was still no indication that Ladybug or Chat Noir had caught on that something was going on. Of course, that was probably due to the powerset he’d given her- the ability to rewrite the memories of everyone affected to reflect their  _ current _ reality. Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn’t spend all their time transformed, just as he couldn’t. In fact, he was counting on that a little, since her given task was to try and discover who they were in their normal everyday lives if possible.

In a way it was a personal victory- he’d finally hit on something that could trip them up… if only they would betray themselves. Sighing again, he went in search of Nathalie. He’d made them both immune to the akuma’s memory-changing power, so both of them remembered everything so far, including the rather odd transformation of his own powers during that elemental-magic setting. Not that he had complained at the time- it had made it possible for an additional attack to occur while his original akuma was still in play.

Yes, Universal was having a great time, but perhaps it was time for Mayura to come out to play and tempt the young heroes out into the open again. Perhaps Universal would catch the power surge when they transformed. Adrien was tucked safely away at that Small Business Convention- which had probably been transformed into a Student Union, or something similar. Yes. He’d be having the time of his life, and he’d be safe from the coming fight.

\----

One moment Nathalie was scheduling phone calls with suppliers and meetings with Gabriel’s design team, and the next she found herself in an office she didn’t recognize, staring at a distraught young man as he sobbed to her about how he’d been framed, and it hadn’t really been him that was caught sabotaging someone else’s project.

It was times like this that Nathalie cursed Hawkmoth. Sure, he’d assured her that he and she were both protected from the mind-bending powers of his latest akuma, but that also meant that she currently had no clue what her current role was. She fell back on professional coldness. The fact that this individual was in an office that was hers, begging for mercy and trying to shift blame onto someone-  _ anyone- _ else, meant that she was likely either the enforcer of rules, or the precursor to the enforcer of rules. So… not all that different from her actual real life job, though she was thankfully no longer so involved in Adrien’s schedule.

She glanced down at her desk, hoping to see a report on a tablet, or even a stack of papers with the complaint to review. She was in luck. No tablet, but there were three pages and the topmost was a single sheet detailing the complaint and the evidence against the young man in front of her. An eyebrow twitched when among the evidence listed was “security video footage.” The recommendation at the bottom of the page was to kick it up to the Dean. Also helpfully listed was the name of the individual.

“I’ve heard enough,” she finally said, in her usual expressionless voice. “There is plenty of evidence against you Mr. Virago. I’m saddened that once again ambition, or perhaps envy or spite, has misled someone talented enough to gain entry to this institution into ruining their chances. However, integrity is something we demand from all our students. You should expect a meeting with the Dean, although given what is listed here, it’s quite possible he’ll merely review the evidence and come to a conclusion in your absence.”

If the Dean were Gabriel Agreste, he certainly would, but unfortunately the Dean’s name wasn’t listed. Naturally, Nathalie would be expected to already know it. Mr. Virago collapsed into incoherent tears, and Nathalie grimaced in distaste. Artists were so very temperamental. Well, except for Gabriel.  _ And even he has his moments, _ she thought, remembering quite a few overheard villain monologues, not to mention his sudden and inexplicable need to compose a  _ rap song _ of all things to serve as his own personal theme a few months ago. 

Nathalie sighed and pushed the button on her old-fashioned office phone that was the most likely candidate for an intercom. “Please have security come and escort Mr. Virago out, thank you,” she said to the person on the other end.

A few moments later, there was a knock on her office door, and two uniformed women escorted the limp and cooperative (likely former) student out of her presence. A moment later there was another knock, and Gabriel walked in.

“I’m the Dean, who are you?” he asked, with no preamble whatsoever, but Nathalie was used to that. Except in moments of extreme stress or worry, Gabriel was nothing if not to the point.

“Someone just under the Dean, I believe. That young man you saw exiting a moment ago won’t be a student here for much longer if the evidence against him holds up.”

“That’s assuming he was ever a student here in the first place, and Universal didn’t make up a scenario he is being forced to play out, or simply transfer his misconduct from one place to another. Perhaps he always dreamed of being a student here, yet his life went another direction.”

Nathalie rubbed her temples. “This akuma is giving me a headache.”

“Don’t think about it too much, then. His life is his own, and unless Universal grants me another universe in which I’m able to create another akuma apart from her, his current mental anguish is irrelevant.”

A small voice in the back of Nathalie’s mind whispered traitorously:  _ when did Gabriel become so cold? Surely he used to care more about the feelings of others… now he seems to see them as nothing more than opportunities to exploit. _

“Of course, sir.”

“Meanwhile, since the heroes have yet to show themselves, perhaps Mayura ought to make an appearance.”

That brought a malicious smile to her face. Since Gabriel had succeeded in repairing the peacock miraculous a few years ago, her pulmonary issues had almost cleared up, and she was much stronger and faster in a fight. Of course, it seemed Ladybug and Chat Noir had finally reached whatever threshold it had been that kept them from using their powers more than once before being forced out of their transformations, and as a result they were also much more formidable opponents. Privately, Nathalie was starting to wonder if they would ever reach their ultimate goal, but she enjoyed being Mayura and flying about the city. As Mayura she could take out some of her frustrations with a reasonable assumption that they would be just fine in the end. She was loathe to give that up.

“I’ll have to check my schedule as soon as I can find it,” she said, “but I’m sure I can find some spare time somewhere. Will you be doing any designing while we’re stuck here?”

“No, it would be pointless. My own schedule is packed with meetings, or so my secretary- who is not nearly as competent as you- tells me. I had to beg for the few minutes it would take to walk from my office to yours as it is.”

“Then you should get going. Oh, by the by… have you run into anyone you recognize yet?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “No one, but the day is young.”

Nathalie returned the smirk. “It seems my current score stands, then.”

“I never agreed to this, you know.”

“And yet, you were so triumphant yesterday when you briefly surpassed my score.”

“You sound like you think this little wager of yours is going to change things.”

“I know you still miss Emilie,” Nathalie said, her tone softening. “But you really need to get out more, and not just as a hologram. You weren’t there all those years when Adrien’s expression would go flat every time you refused to show up for some event. And now that he is grown and out of the house, he is more distant than ever. If you don’t want to lose him entirely, something needs to change.”

Gabriel sighed. “Yes, but… oh, if only I could be as self-centered as Audrey, and simply attempt to fire anyone who annoys me.”

“Everyone feels that way, Gabriel,” Nathalie stated firmly. “You should consider the fact that most of the people you meet are feeling exactly the same way you are… and strive to treat them with the same consideration and respect you would demand for yourself.”

Gabriel made a skeptical noise. “If you say so. But it does seem pointless to bother at this point when we’re so close.” He sighed. “I really must get back. Try to inform me of when you’re going out, please?”

“Of course sir,” Nathalie said, and started pulling out the drawers of her desk looking for a schedule even as he left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, but there are other people in Paris! *Gasp* What kind of author would I be if I didn't let you see things from the perspective of the villains in charge of this whole situation??


	10. Day 10- Reverse Crush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mayura serves as bait to draw out the heroes. Adrien and Marinette both have revelations- about more than just personal things.

Mayura jumped and flipped over rooftops which were entirely unfamiliar. Not for the first time, she wished she could borrow Chat Noir’s endlessly telescoping baton. She had a suspicion that Paris was now one enormous University campus, with all the buildings morphed into classrooms, cafeterias, dormitories, and parking garages. There would also be maintenance buildings and administrative offices, and the police force had probably simply morphed into campus security. The point was, she wondered how different it would look from above. 

She could still see the Eiffel Tower in the distance, so at least one famous landmark was still present- after all, everyone currently thought they were either going to school in Paris, or working for a university in Paris, and no doubt that idea needed reinforcing the longer this went on. She wasn’t sure how long Universal could keep up a single alternate reality. Did it depend on her stamina, like it had with Animan? Or did it depend on how well people accepted the new reality? Surely there would be a few each time for whom the shift was too stark, too different from their normal life. Perhaps if enough people began to question it, it would shatter again.

Or perhaps it simply depended on when Universal herself got bored. She’d shifted between several different universes by now, and hadn’t seemed to spend much time with any of them. Perhaps they were not so compelling once she made it reality. Mayura frankly found it all annoying. Hawkmoth didn’t usually create akumas with powers to affect reality itself, and now that she was experiencing it first hand, she was beginning to have doubts about using the Wish, even if it would save Emilie.

But currently she was trying to keep herself oriented, while also visible enough to draw out the heroes. She would obviously need to find her way back to the administrative office where she currently worked after the battle.

\----

Adrien Agreste beamed at the pretty design student who had actually succeeded in sending Lila off without a scene for once.

“What’s your name?” he asked earnestly. She blinked in surprise. 

“Uh, M-Marinette,” she stuttered slightly. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

He grabbed her hand and kissed it, watching her flush adorably. 

“Thank you,” he continued. “It’s nice to know the name of the woman I’m going to marry.”

She laughed and he caught the nervous note to it. “Well, thank you for the compliment, but it’s really not that big of a deal. I knew someone like her back in college and lycee, so I’ve got some experience in dealing with it.”

Adrien’s interest was genuinely piqued. “Oh yeah? I actually had to go to school with Lila, and that was an experience I really wish had ended with graduation. Not only do I still have to model with her sometimes, now she’s followed me to University.”

“That sucks,” Marinette said. Then her face flamed again. “I’m so sorry, by the way! You must get girls doing this all the time, and I didn’t- I mean, I kind of implied that you and I are together, but it was just to get her to back off, you know? I didn’t- I don’t want to force you into a relationship,” she finished with a soft, sweet smile. “You should be able to make your own choices.”

Adrien could have sworn his heart literally melted at that moment. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, there was a little voice reminding him of the existence of Ladybug, but she’d suddenly become a lot less important to his personal happiness. She was a great partner, but… well, perhaps that was all she’d ever be. And he was… okay with that. More than okay! After all, without the guilt of harboring feelings for his unattainable partner, he could pursue sweet, feisty, wonderful Marinette instead.

“About that… actually,  _ would _ you mind having lunch with me? I’d really like to get to know you better,” he said, trying for a balance between his usual Chat Noir flair and his model reserve. When he saw her hesitate, he quickly added, “Anyone who can handle Lila like that would be a great friend to have!”

\----

Marinette hesitated. She didn’t really know why, but as hot as this boy was, he was still freakin’ Adrien Agreste! She couldn’t go around dating the  _ son of the Dean _ , not when she was a design student herself! Besides, she couldn’t get that kiss between her future self and future Chat Noir out of her mind. It had been so simple, so loving… so full of trust and tenderness, even for as quick as it had been. And she  _ wanted _ that. Something had changed, and she could admit that to herself now- perhaps for the first time.

It had been so long since Chat Blanc… perhaps the danger was over, the peculiar circumstances that had allowed or caused that future no longer existed, surely. She could finally stop fighting herself and allow herself to fall for her partner. Right?

“Um, well, I guess,” she finally said. “Sure! That’d be nice.”

She saw the look of adoration on Adrien’s face and convinced herself that he was a model and used to looking adoringly at women. He probably didn’t mean anything by it, like that over the top exclamation about marrying her a few moments ago. He couldn’t really mean it, they hardly knew each other! And besides, it was probably just an exaggerated way of showing his appreciation.

\----

Adrien could have danced on air. “Great! So, how about that new place that just opened up-”

The akuma alert suddenly went off on both their phones and his heart sank like a stone. Here he was, finally getting somewhere with the girl of his dreams, and stupid Hawkmoth had to interfere.

He cursed, already scanning the area for the best route to a place where he could transform. “I’m really sorry, Marinette. I… have to go.”

“Oh, that’s fine!” she reassured him, “I, um, I get really nervous during these things, so… I’m just gonna go this way. See you!”

She was already hurrying off, and Adrien was halfway to his own exit before he remembered that, like an idiot, he forgot to get her phone number. Well, at least now he knew her  _ name. _

\----

Marinette checked the LadyBlog on her way to a place where she could transform. Alya had posted a video someone had taken of Mayura jumping from rooftop to rooftop, with the disclaimer that no one had yet seen an akuma, but the presence of the villainess could indicate that there was one out there somewhere, or would be soon.

“Alright Tikki,” Marinette said, stopping in a secluded area of campus and opening her purse. “Any more hints as to what’s going on? First you were sure something was up last night, and now Mayura is hopping around rooftops all by herself. Any ideas?”

Lately, Marinette had taken to consulting with Tikki before transforming, unless the akuma in question seemed really straightforward. Ever since she and Chat had cleared the threshold of maturity needed to use their powers more than once a battle, the akumas had gotten more devious and harder to beat.

“I’m beginning to get an inkling, Marinette,” Tikki said encouragingly. “You know how I’m the kwami of creation?”

Marinette nodded.

“Well, there’s something in the air that reminds me of what creation feels like.”

“Something in the  _ air? _ Like, the physical air, or are you using a metaphor for the feel of a place, like a vibe?”

“I don’t know what a vibe is-”

“It’s like a feeling you get sometimes, from people or places. You have an instinct about them, and it can be either bad or good. I remember feeling really good about Alya when I first met her- she gave off good vibes. And we’ve been best friends ever since! Does that makes sense?”

“Yes it does! Thank you, Marinette! And yes, a ‘vibe’ is exactly what I’m talking about. Although,” Tikki paused, putting a nub up to her chin, “I supposed it could also be in the physical air. Creation can leave things behind, you know. And if this is coming from an akuma, it might well be connected to the physical air.”

“That would be a new direction for Hawkmoth,” Marinette mused. “His akumas have been getting a lot harder to beat lately, but the only time I can remember him going so subtle was with Sabrina that one time, and then the time he was Scarlet Moth and had that whole secondary attack planned that took us by surprise.”

Tikki shrugged. “Well, this definitely feels like creation magic to me, Marinette. You should be careful! And try to make sure you don’t forget anything important. You know akumas can affect memories sometimes.”

Marinette sighed at that rather useless bit of advice. How she was supposed to guard against forgetting things when they were dealing with an akuma that shared Tikki’s power and could possibly affect memory? 

“Alright, Tikki. I’ll try to be careful and not forget anything, and I’ll make sure to warn Chat as well. Are you ready to transform?”

“Go for it!”

Marinette spoke the words, and shortly thereafter Ladybug was swinging away over the familiar rooftops of the great University of Paris.

\----

Chat Noir was annoyed. He’d rushed away from Marinette for no reason apparently- there was no sign of an akuma anywhere, and while Mayura had triggered the alert, she was nowhere to be found either. He moved swiftly and quietly, trying not to draw attention to himself, but he couldn’t find her. A few minutes after he decided it had been nothing more than a feint or a distraction, Ladybug showed up, swinging up to his current rooftop.

“H-hey Chat,” she said, her tone oddly breathless. She started to walk over to his vantage point and tripped over thin air, recovering quickly, but still blushing in embarrassment. A few years ago this greeting would have had Chat over the moon with the possibility she was finally falling for him, but now…

“You okay there, Bug?” he asked. “Getting enough sleep? I know you said your schedule was pretty packed this semester.”

Ladybug smiled widely. “Sure! I’m slapping- sleeping! Fine. Just fine.”

Chat raised both eyebrows, but looked back out at the campus. Then he noticed it- it was slow, but inexorable.

“Ladybug,” he breathed. “Look!”

Ladybug joined him at the edge of the roof and together they watched as a circle of  _ change _ spread slowly across the campus, leaving other buildings and streets in it’s wake.

“Chat, take us up,” Ladybug said, and this time there was nothing in her tone but command. 

Without hesitation, Chat grabbed her around the waist and extended his baton with them at the top until they were in danger of being hit by low flying aircraft. They watched as the change engulfed the city and… there was something familiar about it.

“This has happened before, hasn’t it?” Ladybug murmured.

“I think so,” Chat said.

Ladybug let out a shaky breath. “Do you remember it?”

“No,” Chat admitted. “But I think… I think I’ve noticed it before. And then forgot.”

“Me, too. Tikki says she can feel something like the power of Creation in the air,” Ladybug said. Her arm around his shoulder tightened, as she got her yo-yo out again. She opened it to map-mode and Chat could see the spreading change on it as well, the magic of their miraculous somehow picking up that of another. She quickly tapped a few commands, and the screen zoomed out until there was a flashing dot in what could be the center of the circle. “That’s where it started,” Ladybug said. 

“I don’t think we can get there before we forget again,” Chat said, feeling hollow.

“Maybe,” Ladybug replied, and he took heart at the strength of her voice. “But I’ve got the location saved in the yo-yo now, so even if we forget what we’re doing right now, we’ll have a clue. I frankly doubt the akuma will stick around to be found like that, but it will at least give us a starting point, right?”

“Right.” 

The circle of change had reached where they would be if they were still on the roofs now, and Chat braced himself for… something. Ladybug tensed, too. When nothing happened for a few seconds, he started to relax… only to feel the change wash over him a breath later.


	11. Day 11- Star-crossed Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir deal with the newest change in reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come one, come all, step right up, I've got some fresh angst for all you fine folks. Straight from the presses! Heartbreak and heartache- a great opportunity to cry!

One moment Chat was certain he was perfectly fine, sitting on top of his baton with Ladybug on his knee surveying the great city of Paris. The next, he was hit with a heartache so strong it was unbearable. All at once he was certain that no matter what he did, no matter what he tried, he and Marinette would never be together. Not like he wanted to be. Something would always come between them, whether it was his father or his fans or his status… they could never be happy.

It hit him like a load of emotional bricks, and however sturdy and magical the supersuit was, it couldn’t protect him from something like this. He lost his balance at the same time as he lost control of his emotions.

“Chat!” Ladybug wailed in his ear, clinging to him instinctively as they plummeted toward the rooftops in a giant arc. “Chat Noir, I know it hurts! I know! But don’t just give in! Fight it!” 

The pain in her voice broke through to him. He was blinded by tears, but the rest of his senses were still available to him. He tightened his grip on the baton and Ladybug both, using his will and his ears to guide their descent. Instead of crashing through the roof, they landed on it. Both of them promptly collapsed, Ladybug pulling away from him and curling up into a little ball of misery.

“I can’t have you,” she whimpered. “I’m too late. You don’t love me anymore, and I… I can’t… there’s no one else,” she finished in a whisper.

Chat wallowed in his own pain, trying desperately to think up scenarios in which he and Marinette could be together and be happy… and coming up blank. Villains and obstacles rose up in his mind, huge and uncompromising, unsurmountable. He choked, and dug his claws into his own skull, trying to drive off these thoughts. The first wave of anguish finally started to ebb... and something about this felt  _ wrong. _

He blinked his tears away as best he could and looked around, trying to orient them. Mayura might still be out there waiting for an opportunity to ambush them while they dealt with the aftermath of that wave of pain. Ladybug, too, was sitting up and looking around. Her eyes were still wet, but even through her pain she was trying to be conscious and watchful. It was one of the things he used to love about her. Her earlier words echoed in his mind, and he felt another wave of anguish attempt to seize him as he recognized the horrible irony of their situation- just as he had finally fallen in love with someone else, she was realizing her own feelings for him.

“L-ladybug,” he said thickly. “This… this feels…”

“W-wrong, I kn-know,” she finished shakily, through threatened sobs. “Chat… is this how I made you feel all those years? Like, like it could never be?”

She sent him an agonized look, tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping off her chin. He looked back, her heartbreak mirrored on his own face.

“N-no,” he managed. “I… I always had hope. My Lady.” He uttered the words with a finality. He could not love her again, but she had been the first. And that, too, was something to cry about- the ending of something that, while childish and naive, had still been beautiful and precious.

“Okay,” Ladybug said, looking down. She wiped at her tears and took a deep, shaky breath. She stood up, and offered him a hand. He took it and pulled himself up

“We have to manage it, kitty,” she said. “For Paris. There’s an akuma out there making us feel like this, and I, for one, want nothing more than to make it  _ stop.” _

“At least,” Chat said, smiling weakly, “Hawkmoth can’t akumatize  _ us _ right now.”

“Hush,” Ladybug said, suddenly frowning. “Listen.”

Chat sniffed loudly one more time, then listened. There was a subdued but constant noise- like a crowd at a gathering, but… sadder. He realized he was listening to the whole of Paris falling into despair- exactly like himself and Ladybug. The thought itself threatened to once more overwhelm him, but though his eyes teared up again, he moved with Ladybug to the edge of the roof.

Below them on the street people were falling against each other, crouched on the ground, sobbing, many of them with their heads in their hands. Small children were also crying, although Chat thought that it was more because they didn’t understand what was happening to their parents and that scared them.

“God, Chat,” Ladybug whispered, sniffling again. “It’s… it’s so…”

He took a deep breath and nodded, looking up at the bright sky to try and stop his own tears. “I know, LB. I know. B-but we c-can’t-” his throat spasmed on a threatened sob. He swallowed hard. “We can’t help them if we fall to the same thing. Come on! We sh-should head out-”

He grabbed his baton, some part of his mind wondering how he’d never noticed just how hard it was to talk while crying. Perhaps it was because he’d never truly let himself cry about things before. That thought just brought another onslaught of sadness, so he put it aside and tried to concentrate.

Ladybug had pulled herself half-together and gotten out her yo-yo. When she opened it, the map function was still displayed, with a flashing dot on the map.

“Th-this,” she said on a hiccup. “I think this m-might be the origin point.” Her mouth trembled and her expression crumpled again. “You’re right. Let’s… l-let’s go.”

\----

Ladybug tried to pull herself together, she really did. But a thousand images kept bombarding her- Chat Noir’s smile, his soft looks, the many roses he’d offered, the times he asked her on a date… all of them painful now that she finally returned his feelings. She knew he had moved on, and she had to as well, but…

Yet as they moved, they began to hear more than just the wails of people as heartbroken as themselves. Men and women yelling in anger. It was enough to distract her temporarily from her own pain, and she stopped to look down on the street.

To her surprise, she recognized Alya. Normally, the Ladyblogger would have been staring up at the roofs with her phone out, trying to catch Chat and herself as they patrolled, or running to the fight with the akuma. With another flash of pain so intense it was almost physical, Ladybug realized they weren’t being heroic at the moment- they were almost as debilitated by this attack as everyone else.

But Alya wasn’t paying any attention to anything but the boy she was desperately reaching for. Her mother and father were yelling at her, scolding her for falling in love with someone so unsuitable. They were dragging her away and her cries were swallowed up by their anger.

The boy in question was also being pulled away by a man who showed his disapproval in the way he wouldn’t even look at the scene, looking steadfastly in the other direction as he forced his son away from his love.

“Alya,” Ladybug breathed, feeling yet more tears well up.

“Nino,” Chat said, heartbreak evident in his tone. Ladybug wondered how Chat recognized the boy. She knew Alya had a boyfriend, but she had yet to meet him.

The temptation to cave in on herself was strong, but she wrapped her arms tightly around herself and stumbled back from the edge. “Come on, Chat,” she whispered, unable to speak louder. “We have to stop this.”

They went on, now trying to tune out the sounds of despair and heartbreak around them while they tried to control their own feelings.

And then she saw it- another ripple in the air itself. She recognized it this time, knew she had seen it before, and knew that it meant everything was going to change. And this time, she welcomed it.

  
  



	12. Day 12- Childhood Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Nino discover something odd about Marinette and Adrien.

Alya pounded down the sidewalk, frantic to get to Nino as quickly as possible. She couldn’t even remember what was wrong, but she’d suddenly found herself fighting against her parents on a sidewalk in the middle of Paris, with no clear idea of how she’d gotten there, or what the fight was about, except that it had something to do with Nino. Apparently, her parents had also suffered a temporary memory hiccup, and let her go with a good grace and a somewhat sheepish apology. 

Alya didn’t blame them. This had to be the work of an akuma- no doubt about it. First there was that video sent in showing Mayura out and about, and now everyone was waking up feeling awful and distressed and yet no one knew why? Yeah… definitely an akuma.

Either way, Alya had to make sure Nino was okay. He wasn’t answering his phone at the moment, but her parents did remember that he’d been dragged off in the opposite direction that they had been pulling her. So she simply tried her best to retrace her steps. Steps she couldn’t remember taking, true, but she was hoping she would get lucky. Fortunately, what with all the running after (and from) akumas, and doing parkour runs with her boyfriend, Alya was in pretty good shape.

She finally spotted him in the distance, trademark headphones slung around his neck, and redoubled her pace. There weren’t a lot of other people on the sidewalk at this time of day, otherwise Alya would have been knocking people over left and right. Nino seemed to spot her right after she spotted him, and then he was running toward her as well. Alya braced herself for the crash.

She did slow down a little right at the end so she didn’t knock him completely over, but their embrace was still more concussive than she would have liked. Alya held him tightly, and felt his arms wrap just as tightly around her. And with that, all the urgency dropped away. 

Now feeling slightly foolish, Alya loosened her grip and pulled away, oddly embarrassed.

“Hey,” she said, lamely. 

Nino smiled crookedly. “Hey.”

“So,” Alya started. “That was… a thing.”

“Dude yeah, I know! It was so weird! One minute I’m walking out of the radio station, and the next my dad’s dragging me down the street and I’m crying? And it had something to do with you, babe.” He grabbed his trademark ballcap of his head and started twisting it in his hands. “I mean, it was probably an akuma or something, but… I just had to make sure you were okay.”

“Same here,” Alya said, relieved. “Only I had both my parents dragging me down the street. It’s too bad we both got affected by whatever akuma Mayura was supporting. I would have liked to get something for the blog. But whatever- Ladybug and Chat Noir had it in the bag, as usual, or we wouldn’t have woken up.”

They smiled at each and then hugged again. “So… want to do tacos tonight?” Nino asked, hopefully.

Alya laughed. “Only if you promise not to get fish!”

“Aw, man…! Fish tacos are the best!”

“ALYA!”

Both of them looked up at the shouted name. Marinette came sprinting down the sidewalk, skidding to a halt beside them and reaching out to support herself on Alya’s shoulder.

“I… you…” she gasped out. “I saw you… during the… attack…” Marinette bent over, panting.

Just then more running footsteps could be heard, and Nino and Alya looked up to see Adrien running toward them from the opposite direction. Alya started grinning to herself, catching a suspicious look from Nino.

“Nino!” Adrien called as he came close enough to be heard. “You okay, man? That akuma… woah. That was intense. It really looked like it had you, man.”

“Yeah dude, I’m fine,” Nino said, half-shrugging. “Thanks for coming to check on me, though.”

“Yeah,” Alya said. “That was really nice of  _ both _ of you.”

Marinette had finally caught her breath again and stood straight, catching sight of Adrien. She did a double take at the same time he gave her a huge smile. 

“Hey Marinette!” he said, apparently very enthused to see her. Marinette smiled painfully and looked down. Alya sighed. This was nothing she hadn’t seen before, after all.

“So, you’re both okay?” Adrien asked, turning back to them. “I’m assuming this is the famous girlfriend?” he said, obviously asking Nino.

Nino frowned. “Dude. Really?”

Alya crossed her arms and frowned as well, but not out of irritation. She felt Marinette pulling on her sleeve and turned to her. Marinette leaned in close and whispered, “That’s the guy, Alya. From the cafe.” She pulled back and gave her a little excited grin. Then her expression shifted and suddenly she looked really guilty. “I probably shouldn’t lead him on, though. I mean, there is…” she trailed off, suddenly looking confused, as if she had forgotten what she was going to say.

Alya’s frown deepened. Something was decidedly not right, she decided. She could hear Adrien and Nino arguing in the background, indicating that something wasn’t right there, either.

“Nino, come on! You know me better than that- I would never pretend I didn’t know someone who’s been my friend for years!”

“Then why the act, man? I thought we were tight?”

Alya studied them both. Nino was understandably incensed on her behalf, but Adrien looked to be genuinely confused. Marinette was watching the whole thing like she was the uncomfortable witness of a breakup on the subway, edging closer to Alya by the second. It was like… a lightbulb went off over Alya’s head.

“Okay, stop,” she said, stepping between her boyfriend and his best friend. “Something’s not right here.”

“You can say that again,” Nino said hotly, glaring at Adrien. Adrien held his hands up, but was starting to look sullen.

“No, Nino, you don’t get it. Look at Adrien. Look at Marinette.”

Nino sighed and looked at both Adrien and Marinette in turn. He turned back to Alya. “Alya, what-”

“Nino.  _ They don’t know each other _ ,” Alya said, “and as far as Adrien is concerned, he and I have never met. For that matter, I would bet next month’s salary that Marinette here would swear to never meeting  _ you _ before today.” 

She was as convinced about that as if someone had given her the ability to read minds. Nino blinked, then looked at both of their best friends again. His eyebrows rose.

“Oh! I see it!” he said, excitedly. “Alya, I see it!” His expression grew horrified. “Oh my god, Alya, they don’t know each other!”

Alya smiled, but it quickly turned sour. She turned to Marinette and grabbed her hands. “Okay, girl. We’ve been friends for a really long time, so I need you to trust me, okay?”

Marinette nodded. “O-okay.”

“How long have we been friends?’

“Since college.”

“Right. How long have I had a boyfriend?”

“Uh… Alya, is this a trick-”

“Just answer the question.”

“I… don’t know? A few weeks? A month, maybe?”

“Marinette. I’ve been dating Nino for almost five years now. He proposed in February. You are my Maid of Honor and Adrien over there is Nino’s Best Man. We are getting married in September. I can  _ guarantee _ that you definitely met both of them before yesterday. In fact, you went to school with Nino before you ever met me and Adrien, and you’ve known Adrien as long as you’ve known me. In fact, the two of you have been dancing around each other for most of that time. We’re all pretty much childhood friends that managed to make it to adulthood with our friendship intact.”

Marinette stared at her, completely confused.

“... what? Alya, how…” She bit her lip, looking over to Adrien, who was having a similar conversation with Nino. To Alya’s eye, he looked more astonished than distressed. “Why don’t I remember that?” Marinette whispered.

Alya shook her head, feeling her heart clench at how lost Marinette looked.

“I don’t know, girl. But you better believe we’re going to find out.”


	13. Day 13 & 14- Flower Shop, Social Media

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regrets and realizations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get a two-day update today, so no update tomorrow. Unless I get unexpected time to write.

Universal walked down the street of flower shops enjoying all the bright blooms, cool soothing greens, and the scents that filled the air. She smiled at the butterflies flitting around the blooms, although she saw several shop owners as well as customers shooing them away distastefully. She toyed with turning the whole of Paris into one big flower shop, but her object wasn’t recharged from the “star-crossed lovers” debacle yet. That one really hadn’t been well-thought out. She’d assumed it would be like watching Romeo and Juliet, only more so.

It certainly had been  _ more so _ , and she really hadn’t needed Hawkmoth’s furious ranting in her head to convince her to cancel the universe, even though doing so all at once negated the memory altering part of her powers. Still, all that wailing and fighting… not so fun when you were stuck in the middle of it, and she didn’t mind taking that small risk in order to end it quickly. She bent over to sniff at a particularly lovely bloom, thankful once again that her akumatization hadn’t given her a gaudy and bright suit, or changed her skin color. She was able to enjoy her creations without attracting too much attention. Although so far, she hadn’t really hit any winners. 

Her eyes had changed, she knew that, but people noted eye color a lot less frequently than many people thought. Well, and the tips of her fingers looked like they’d been dipped in magenta dye, but that was a nuance compared to some of the akumas she could remember seeing before. If anyone noticed, they would probably think it was some new beauty trend, or that they’d seen her painted nails and their brain had extrapolated from that. The tips of her hair were also dyed pink, but that was pretty common nowadays.

Looking at the flowers, she considered what her next selection of available universes should be. There was the tale of the miniature child born inside of a flower… which thought inevitably led to fairies and other mythological creatures. 

Universal smiled, now sure of what she wanted to experience next.

\----

Marinette watched as Alya searched Instagram for posts of all four of them, or ones where she’d tagged them all. There certainly did seem to be a lot of evidence for Alya’s claim that all four of them had been friends for forever… 

But then, why couldn’t she remember Adrien before a day ago at the cafe? Curious, she took out her own phone and opened up her own Instagram. She searched her posts for Nino and Adrien, then organized them by earliest, rather than latest posting.

The earliest post was a class photo taken when they were still in college. Marinette actually remembered this, now that she was looking at it. The girl in the middle- Juleka- had gotten akumatized because she’d been left out of the original photo. She suppressed a giggle as she also remembered Chat Noir’s difficulty with the wedge heels Reflekta had forced everyone to wear. It was strange, though. She could remember Juleka clearly, Reflekta and Chat Noir… she found every face in the picture, remembering their names- Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Max, and Alix in the front row, then Ivan, herself, Alya and Kim in the back. She frowned. That wasn’t the right… hadn’t there been more of them?

Her brow cleared as she suddenly remembered that Chloe and Sabrina hadn’t come for the make-up picture after school- largely because Chloe had been the single biggest cause of that akuma. Juleka had been directed to stand next to a boy Chloe liked, and Chloe had Sabrina lock her in the bathroom so she could stand next to him instead. There was a momentary feeling of unreality- she couldn’t imagine who the younger Chloe had been crushing on in their class of that time- none of the boys would have been her type.

She gasped as memory crashed down on her.

_ Adrien. _ Chloe had wanted to stand next to  _ Adrien _ . And with that, two more faces seemingly materialized out of thin air in her picture- Nino sat on the end next to Rose, and Adrien… Adrien stood between Nathaniel and herself. She smiled slightly, remembering how proud she’d been for not letting herself get too flustered by that.

“Alya! I remember!” Marinette looked from her best friend’s face to Adrien’s and it was like five years of memories were suddenly unlocked in her mind. She remembered her insane crush, the debilitating self-doubt and fear that had prevented her from ever confessing it to him, the way that crush had mellowed out into a close friendship over the years. She remembered why she had felt so flabbergasted by watching the future versions of Ladybug and Chat Noir share a kiss, though it seemed silly now. She remembered being in love with Adrien, but the intervening selective amnesia had allowed her to access and acknowledge her feelings for her partner as well.

For a moment she teetered on the edge of information overload, but Alya’s tight grip on her hand pulled her back.

“Hey girl, it’s okay,” Alya said, far more gently than was her usual wont. “Don’t try to sort anything out just yet.” Marinette nodded, keeping her eyes closed. 

“H-hey, Marinette?” Adrien asked in his soft voice. Marinette opened one eye to peek at him. He had moved closer, and was looking extremely handsome as usual, but there was a bashfulness to his expression she didn’t think she’d ever seen before.

“I, uh, remember you now. I remember you both, actually,” he said, including Alya in his glance. “I’m really sorry I forgot you.”

“Me, too,” Marinette said, still a little breathless. But she was feeling steadier, and pulled away from Alya a little.

“Sorry, Nino,” she looked past Adrien’s shoulder to make eye-contact with one of her oldest friends.

“Hey no worries, dudette,” he assured her with a cheesy thumbs up. “Whatever it was made me forget you yesterday morning at the cafe. I was totally convinced my bro here needed help winning over the cute waitress. I don’t know what came over me!”

Marinette blushed beet red, completely missing the fact that Adrien was also red in the face. But her recent realization of her feelings for Chat- and the two years in which they had grown closer as friends- helped her avoid spontaneous combustion. In fact… she studied Adrien’s face for a moment, feeling like she was on the brink of something important. But then a wave of disorientation washed over her and she swayed, lightheaded.

Her ears were ringing, but she could still dimly hear her friends.

“Whoa, dude!”

“Come on girl, lean on me…”

“Uh, babe? A little help?”

“Wait Nino, I have an idea.”

Support under her arm grounded her and slowly the dizziness subsided. She leaned her head gratefully against… a chest that definitely wasn’t  _ Alya’s _ . For a moment she was alarmed, but then her body recognized the contours. This was- had to be- Chat Noir, her partner.

“Thanks, kitty,” she murmured, snuggling a little closer. Feeling cloth under her cheek.

Her eyes popped open as she picked up a suddenly increased heartbeat under her ear. Her gaze traveled slowly upward to see Adrien staring down at her with an astonished expression.


	14. Day 15- Mythical Creatures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a sphinx guarding the museum.

Adrien came back to equilibrium slowly but surely. Someone was hugging him close and by the feel of it, it was probably Ladybug. He relaxed and felt her do the same. 

“Thanks, Kitty,” she murmured into his chest… and that’s when he realized that not only was he  _ not transformed _ , but he could also feel her  _ cloth shirt _ under his hand, which meant she wasn’t either. His eyes popped open in surprise and then he was staring down into Marinette’s face- not Ladybug’s. Except… maybe it was? 

Of course,  _ that _ was the moment he saw the approaching ripple in the air and tensed. Marinette turned around, removing herself from his arms-  _ no come back _ \- and immediately took a step back into him when she noticed it, too. 

Alya and Nino were arguing about a bet in the background and weren’t paying attention. By now Adrien knew there was no point in running, so instead he wrapped his arms around Marinette’s shoulders and leaned his head against hers. 

“I don’t want to forget,” he said.

“Me neither,” she replied.

And then the ripple passed over them. Adrien’s awareness of what was happening stayed barely one step ahead of the changes it was making so there was a brief flash of surprise as faeries and pixies jumped out of flowers, the cars turned into dragons, chimeras, and sphinxes, and people’s clothing changed. Then his awareness melted away as the changes took hold.

\----

Adrien found himself hugging Marinette tightly with a vague sense that he’d been scared about something. But when he looked up and around, everything was normal. None of Paris’ citizens had been brainwashed into going berserk, nothing was on a rampage. He loosened his hold and looked sheepishly down at her.

“I’m sorry about that, I don’t know what came over me.”

Marinette smiled, casually swatting away some of the faeries from nearby window boxes who were trying to rearrange her hair. “Shoo! My hair looks fine! It’s fine, Adrien, really. I know how much you love hugs.”

The faeries giggled and moved on to Alya, who was standing nearby with Nino. They started inserting tiny braids, and Alya was too involved in talking to her boyfriend to notice. Marinette moved away to rescue her friend before the little pests could do any real damage. Adrien frowned slightly before remembering that they had a group project at the museum that they’d planned to do today. 

Looking up the street, he realized they were close. Marinette must have just met them there on the way. 

Marinette got them all moving again, and Adrien appreciated all over again how she could take charge without being cold or bossy. She was a natural leader- people wanted to follow her, and the beauty of it was that she used that power only for good. Something tickled at the back of his mind at that thought. She reminded him of someone… someone important.

The thought passed, and then they were in front of the museum, where the lesser sphinx stood guard. Adrien always thought it was more than a little stupid to hire a sphinx at a museum. The riddle rule was outdated and more than a little counterproductive, since it kept out the people who needed to learn the most. Fortunately, there was a rule in place that forced the sphinx to let entire school groups through as long as their teacher, or one of the parent sponsors could answer the entrance riddle.

Today the riddle was tricky:  _ “I speak without a mouth, and hear without ears. I have no body, but come alive with wind. What am I?” _

Surprisingly, it was Nino who came up with an answer the sphinx would accept: a microphone. He had to argue it for a few minutes, but eventually the creature was convinced and grudgingly moved aside.

Everyone patted Nino on the back as they entered the doors, congratulating him on the unexpected answer.

“I was thinking speakers, too, but they don’t really come alive with wind, unless they’re connected to a microphone first. So that’s why I went with that guess.”

“That’s really clever Nino,” Marinette commented. 

“Ok, hold up everyone. Let me just update The Riddler,” Alya said, and they all paused by the information desk. She had already pulled her phone out and was busy typing. The Riddler was a blog dedicated to collecting all the riddles and answers asked by sphinxes all over the world. Every country had a separate forum, and every forum had a separate thread for every major city. Sphinxes tended to leave the less populated areas alone, but the blog served as a valuable resource for travelers and tourists. 

Alya finished posting to the Paris, France thread and they moved on into the museum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The official answer to that riddle is: an echo.


	15. Day 16- Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maaaaaaggggiiiiiicccc...

“So where do you guys want to start?” Marinette asked as they moved further into the museum. 

“You know me,” Alya laughed. “I’m all about ancient manuscripts- three thousand year old gossip is totally my jam!”

“Magical Artifacts,” Adrien said simply.

“Come on, man, live a little! I know your dad’s a stick in the mud, but do you really don’t need to join him down there,” Nino complained. “Now, I decided on extinct animals- you know, from before the Magical Tide? I’m telling you bro, there are some really ridonculous skeletons in the Natural History wing. There’s this one animal called a ‘giraffe,’ and I’m pretty sure they put too many bones in its neck, because there’s no way an animal of that size could survive the blood pressure needed to keep it’s brain alive.”

Adrien chuckled and Marinette smiled as well.

“Well, I’m here to look at-”

“Oh let me guess,” Alya interrupted, shooting Adrien and Nino an amused look. They all grinned and shouted, “Textiles!” loudly enough that one of the docents actually shushed them. Snickering, they subsided and moved on.

Marinette crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as they walked. “I was going to say  _ ancient fashions. _ ”

“Right, because that is  _ such  _ a difference,” Alya teased.

“Seriously, Mari, even my father doesn’t study fashion all day every day,” Adrien said, then stopped. “Actually… that was a lie. He probably does do that.”

“I don’t!” Marinette tried to protest. “It’s just that, well, somehow everything I get interested in ends up leading right back to… clothes!”

“Could you at least mix things up a little and make your report on jewelry instead of the clothing?” Nino asked.

“I mean, I  _ could… _ That would actually be really interesting, now that I think about it. They do have an exhibit on ancient jewelry said to have been magical. Let me look.”

She pulled the pamphlet out of her pocket- because of course she’d gotten a new pamphlet even though all of them had been to the museum several times- and opened it up.

“Right, here it is: ‘Miraculous or Not? A collection of gems and precious metals that may once have contained powerful spirits.’”

They all made appreciative noises. 

“That sounds a lot more interesting than a third analysis of Merlin’s robes, Marinette,” Adrien teased gently. 

Marinette felt her cheeks grow hot. “Fine. Jewelry it is.”

“I’ll go with you. The ancient artifact exhibit is on the other side of it anyway,” Adrien said, looking at the map. “You guys coming?”

“No, manuscripts are way on the other side. Sorry, girl! Take lots of pics, though! I mean, they probably won’t be anything to look at, because the ancients had terrible style, but you never know!”

“It’s fine. Go catch up on who was cheating on who in Ancient Paris!”

“I’m out, too. Sorry, bro- skeletons are right in the middle.”

“No worries. Meet up for lunch?”

Everyone agreed to that and they went their separate ways.

The collection was small, only taking up one standing display case. There were two pins- one that looked like a simple amethyst oval, and the other like an enameled fan of some kind. The enamel was cracked and missing pieces, but Marinette thought it would have been quite striking when new, as the colors were still vivid. The placard said it was made in the shape of a now-extinct wild bird called a peacock. 

Beside those were mounted a hair comb in the shape of a bee in tarnished silver, a copper necklace with an enameled fox-tail pendant, a pair of obsidian stud earrings, a titanium ring that was described as a ‘signet,’ and a jade buckle or charm with carvings that reminded Marinette of a turtle shell that may have been strung on a cord as a bracelet.

Those were all in the center, a grouping suggested by the box they were found in (displayed on the bottom of the lighted case), as they had all been on the top level. Around them were hung various other bracelets, rings, necklaces, a few headpieces, and even something that looked like a ring-and-bracelet combination with the pieces joined by broken chains and a cabochon jewel that would have sat on the back of the hand. 

Looking at the collection made Marinette feel oddly sad. The legend on the placard said that the jewelry was supposed to have contained something like spirits that granted the wearer different magical power sets depending on which jewel was worn. Some of them were pretty vague- no one really knew what the two broaches could have done just from their appearance, but the fox necklace had probably had something to do with deception- but the box had had an ancient yin-yang symbol that housed the earrings and the titanium signet ring, suggesting that these two were often paired or worn together, and represented opposite powers that could only be used in balance with each other.

If that were really true, she wondered what it would have been like for those ancients who wore them. Magic had re-entered humanity’s grasp over 200 years ago, and she couldn’t even imagine a world without it. Perhaps these jewels had once served as the only conduit magic had left, and she wondered how that had affected the wearers. Had they been startled when they first discovered it? Were they afraid of the power? Had they used it for good… or for evil? 

Many records had been destroyed in the years after the Magical Tide that had changed everything, so it was impossible to know for sure. She’d learned in history classes that the ancients used electrical devices and stored most of their records that way, and of course everyone knew that magic played havoc with the electrical field.

She took careful notes while Adrien wandered around the rest of the exhibit, even taking the time to make a quick sketch of each piece and the box they had been found in, before remembering that Alya wanted pictures. So she snapped a few of those to be developed later, and signaled to Adrien that they could move on to his exhibit.

As they left, neither of them noticed a short, red-haired woman, and a squat black-haired man gazing thoughtfully, and perhaps even longingly, at them.

“I hate this,” the man said. “I hate being human- it’s itchy.”

“You think I like it?” the woman replied. “This is merely a projection- it’ll fade soon enough. And in the meantime, the memory rewriting is actually working in  _ our _ favor. Hawkmoth thought he was being so smart… the akuma would have had them on the first day if not for that.”

The man shifted as if he wanted to scratch his back. “ _ You _ should be the only one allowed to change reality- you never make me a human.”

The woman snorted. “I couldn’t agree more. Fortunately, she can’t sustain anything for very long, no matter how much power Hawkmoth poured into her.” She smirked. “I can feel the next wave coming already. I wonder what it’ll be this time…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcanon for this au is that the Magical Tide broke the link between the kwamis and the Miraculous. Thus the jewels became simple jewels again and the kwamis lost the ability to interact with humans. Except Tikki and Plagg are still currently connected to Adrien and Marinette, which is why they make a cameo at the end of this chapter.


	16. Day 17- Masquerade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snekmouse!

Adrien walked into the large room the museum was using as a ballroom that night and quickly stepped to the left to get out of the press of people entering behind him. He looked over the crowd, secure in the anonymity his mask granted him. He glanced over everyone there, looking for… he didn’t even know what. Just that he’d know it if he found it.

He hoped his costume wasn’t too outlandish. He had spent almost his whole allowance on it, but it had been well worth it. It was snake-themed, a mandarin style suit in muted blues and greens with a subtle scale pattern and a few yellow diamond accents. He’d thought about asking for a cowl instead of a collar, but decided against it at the last minute, even though it would have hidden his far-too-noticeable hair  _ and _ served as a pretty good imitation for a snake’s hood. But he had considered how hot it might get in the ballroom, and ultimately decided on the collar. Instead, the bottom edge of his mask had little points that looked like fangs. 

A flash of bright color caught his attention and he reacted just in time to save someone from either crashing into him or tumbling to the floor at his feet. 

“Watch it!” someone shrieked, and Adrien looked up to see a woman in a yellow satin ball gown embellished with black chevron stripes glaring down at the person he’d caught- a shortish woman in grey and pink. He absentmindedly helped her stand back on her own two feet, while keeping an eye on the offending party.

“Aren’t you even going to apologize? Ugh, I don’t know why I even bothered to come to this. If I hadn’t already ordered this fabulous thing,” the yellow-clad woman continued, smoothing her hands down her torso, “I wouldn’t have. Sabrina! Why haven’t you cleared away all these peasants? Let’s go already!”

Adrien found himself glaring at the woman’s back. He could have said something but she was already gone. He looked to his side, only noticing now that the grey and pink was a mouse-themed costume with a cocktail length skirt. Thankfully, she had forgone a rubber nose and whiskers, but she had pulled her black hair up into two adorable space buns that served as ears. Her hands were on her hips as she, too, glared at the space where the other woman had disappeared into the crowd. He found himself smiling at her. 

“What a hornet,” he said, drawing her attention. She snapped her head up at him and he caught his breath. She had such  _ blue _ eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked, once he regained control of his tongue.

“Y-yeah,” she said, blushing a little. “Sorry I fell for you.” Her eyes widened and he thought she blushed, though it was hard to tell with the mask. “ON you! Fell ON you!”

Adrien chuckled. She was adorable. And alluring.

“It’s not a big deal. You can’t help it if someone rudely pushes past you.” He hesitated a moment before deciding to give it a shot. “I… don’t suppose you’d like to dance?” He nodded to the middle of the ballroom.

“Oh, um,” she stammered. “I’m a little clumsy… I wouldn’t want to step on your toes.”

“Don’t worry about it, my feet are pretty tough,” Adrien said, and greatly daring, he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the crowd onto the dance floor. Once there, he searched her eyes for any hint that she didn’t really want to be there, relieved when he saw none. They began a simple box step, keeping quite a bit of distance between them at first. Adrien liked to think he was a good dancer- certainly the many lessons he’d had should make some difference- but he had never had a partner who responded so readily to his cues. They both quickly relaxed, and he pulled her a little closer for convenience.

They moved agilely through all the other dancers, nimbly avoiding bumping into backs or stepping on trailing skirts. It felt like they’d been dance partners for years, and he could see that she was just as surprised and delighted as he was.

“So what should I call you?” Adrien asked, after a few minutes of simply enjoying the dance. The mouse looked up at him and blinked. “Actually, let me guess,” Adrien said, grinning a little as his rarely seen mischievous side showed itself. “Mousinette?” 

She raised her eyebrows and gave him an indulgent smile. 

“Ratagirl?” 

She grimaced at that one. 

“Um… Hamsterella?”

That made her giggle, and Adrien chuckled too. 

“I’m a mouse, not a hamster!” she insisted. “I did think of going with a hamster, because they are the cutest, but I thought everyone would have assumed I was a mouse anyway.” She smiled. “Anyway, you can call me Marimouse.”

“ _ Marry _ mouse?” he asked, with his own raised eyebrow and a smirk. “It’s a bit soon for that, don’t you think? Not that I’m all that opposed...”

She gasped and playfully slapped his shoulder before putting her hand back into his. “You know that’s not what I meant! It’s just a mash-up of one of my nicknames with ‘mouse.’ Anyway, what about you?” 

She ran her eyes over him, leaving, had she but known it, pleasant tingles in the wake of her gaze. Adrien inhaled slowly and held his breath a moment to keep himself under control. 

“Hm, how about Viper? No,” she shook her head, “too aggressive. Um, Sir Asp? Baron von Wurm?”

Adrien grinned broadly. “Aspik. You can call me Aspik.”

She smiled back.

Usually, Adrien hoped time would fly at these fancy parties, but tonight… oh, tonight he wanted it to last forever.

\----

Universal surveyed the masked crowd. She’d been wandering through the streets, enjoying the freedom everyone around her was indulging in behind the masks she’d granted them, when she’d felt a sudden sharp pull toward the museum. Now, she looked over the crowd, trying to pinpoint which couple had generated that pull. Most everyone here seemed to be either equally attracted to their partner, or neutral. There was one woman who was actively repelling the people around her, clad in yellow and black in a bee-themed dress. No one else seemed to stand out… 

She caught sight of a turtle/fox couple that was putting out palpable waves of attraction and decided to follow them as they left the crowded ballroom. The only other couple that came close to their intensity was snake/mouse themed. However, turtle and fox seemed to be the better bet at the moment- they were only barely aware they were still in public and had found a darker corner in which to indulge in each other. The snake and mouse pair were much more reserved, seeming too shy for passion. 

Universal had a feeling that if Ladybug and Chat Noir ever made it official, they would be all over each other- that much repressed emotion had to break out some time- so she headed toward the fox and the turtle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how anyone is supposed to write to this prompt *without* getting Phantom of the Opera stuck in their head, honestly.


	17. Day 18- Bookshop

Hawkmoth was getting impatient. Universal had been at large for two days, heading into three, and so far there had been no results whatsoever, except for the mother of all backlash headaches resulting from that momentary ‘star-crossed lovers’ universe, or whatever she’d called it. Moreover, he’d had to spend most of his time transformed, which was putting him rather glaringly behind on the designs for his newest line. Of course, he was also getting some excellent inspiration from all these different universes, but…

He decided enough was enough. If Universal couldn’t draw out or find Ladybug and Chat Noir in the next twelve hours, he would pull the akuma and try again. Activating his link to Universal, he readied what he was going to say.

“Universal,” he began in his patented Intimidating Voice, “I am growing tired of this endless parade of universes, none of which bring the miraculouses or their bearers any closer to me!”

“You promised me the power to change reality itself, Hawkmoth!” Universal started to complain.

“But only if you would do the work to find my nemeses so I can finally defeat them and take their miraculouses,” Hawkmoth reminded her. There was silence on the other end for a moment. Then she spoke again.

“I actually think I may be close,” she said in a quieter tone. “Of all the pulls between two people, this has been the strongest I’ve felt, and… it’s quite strong, Hawkmoth. It can only be because these two have also got miraculouses.”

Hawkmoth narrowed his eyes, somewhat surprised that she’d actually fulfilled her side of the bargain. After all, there were only a few of his many hundred akuma who had even come close- so many had been utter failures, and the rest had not been up to the challenge, even with the powers he gave them.

“Let me see,” Hawkmoth commanded, and the link between them strengthened enough for him to see what she was seeing. It robbed her of agency, stopping her in her tracks, but that hardly mattered. It wasn’t like she was a particularly offensive akuma. Her strength lay in not being noticed. In fact, with the masquerade ball universe she’d currently got going, the glowing butterfly symbol might well have simply been a part of her mask and no one would take notice.

Hawkmoth peered through the gloom until he could see two people wrapped in a passionate embrace. However, even with the darkness, the masks, and the costumes, he could tell they weren’t the ones he was looking for. Their skin tones were too dark, the heights didn’t match, and moreover, he recognized them. They  _ had _ borne miraculouses a few years ago, but after Miracle Queen had exposed their identities, Ladybug had never called on them again.

“That’s not Ladybug and Chat Noir! That’s the Ladyblogger and her boyfriend!” Hawkmoth yelled. Fury roared through him and into the link, making Universal seize up with pain. He didn’t care. She’d raised his hopes only to dash them again. She  _ should _ feel his wrath. 

“You have twelve hours,” he threatened. “Don’t disappoint me again.”

\----

Universal shuddered in relief as the pain vanished along with Hawkmoth’s presence in the back of her mind. She cast a sullen look at the pair of lovers who had inadvertently caused this pain. It wasn’t their fault, but she hadn’t been akumatized for being rational. She decided to get back at them by making them star in the most boring universe she could think of. And just to make it extra mind-numbing, she extended the same Paris-wide effect as she had for the university life universe.

The headband on her head pulsed in time with her thought, and an indelible sphere of change spread out from her. She smiled grimly as the two before her were transformed from the mysterious and alluring masked couple into two average bookstore workers. She’d put a little more power into the memory editing part of the spell, trying to make sure that the two people in front of her wouldn’t remember what they’d been doing or why they were in the same part of the store. The two of them broke apart under the influence of the mind wipe, and found themselves apparently manning the counter of a large chain bookstore.

“You let the magic and mystery of the universe  _ I _ gave you carry you away, but you’ll see… Romance doesn’t last long when confronted by the horrifying mundanity of everyday life,” she muttered under her breath. She was on a timer now- she had to make every second count. But first, she was going to ensure at least one of these people had a bad day.

She marched up to the counter, determined to act like the most disgruntled and entitled customer she could be. She would give him hell, and then she would track down that snake and mouse couple.

\----

Alya blinked. For a moment she could have sworn… but then reality reasserted itself and she noticed that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. 

“Alya, what are you doing here? Get back to work!” Nino hissed at her, then pasted on a smile for the evidently quite disgruntled customer stomping up to the counter. Alya smiled but turned away, a little hurt at Nino’s insistence. He’d managed to score a coveted customer service position lately, but he’d spent more time in the warehouse where all the books came in than she had. Had he just forgotten what it was like to escape the mindless drudgery even for only as long as her break? It wasn’t like she didn’t know not to interrupt when there was a customer to help, and she could have tidied the gift bags, or something while she waited.

It honestly baffled her why the grand bookstore that was practically its own city by now, couldn’t keep more than one person on a counter at a time. It seemed so counterintuitive, she thought. She came back around the counter and hopped on the off-brand segway used by store employees who couldn’t afford to spend a good half-hour walking from one section to the next. She glanced back at Nino, only to see his smile grow strained as the Karen at the counter ranted at him. She spared him some pity- the backroom might be boring and dull, but at least she didn’t have to put up with harassment. She took careful note of the woman, the purplish headband she wore, her... questionable clothing choices, and the way her manicure was so cheap the colors had actually leached onto her fingertips.

Wait...

\----

Marinette giggled as Adrien spun her out, narrowly avoiding the bookshelf to her left. He tugged her hand and she obligingly spun back, crossing her arms over her torso to hold his hands as they swayed together, back to chest. She giggled again, bright and happy. Still, they were at work.

“Not that I’m not enjoying this,” she said, grinning up at him. “But shouldn’t we get back to work? I mean, what brought this on?”

“It’s quirky and fun,” Adrien replied promptly. “Plus, we both need a break from shelving overpriced textbooks, and... I like dancing with you.” He smiled. 

She felt herself blushing, but fortunately she was currently too relaxed and into the moment for her overzealous anxiety to rear its ugly head and ruin everything. She sighed and closed her eyes, just for a moment, enjoying being so close to her crush and hearing him say he liked dancing with her.

The approaching whir of one of the store scooters made her eyes shoot open again and she tore herself away from Adrien, heart pounding. If it was one of the many managers and they got caught doing anything but their actual job…

She got to work, making room on the shelf before hefting a stack of heavy textbooks into the cleared space, making sure the spines were right side up. When she glanced over at Adrien- just to see if he was hurt or offended by her sudden leap away from him- he was working away at the next shelf over. His expression was neutral, but when he saw her looking he took the time to smile and wink at her. She smiled back. 

Marinette really hoped he didn’t think she suddenly hated him, or was ashamed to be caught dancing with him. But he probably didn’t. Stocking the shelves was one step up from unboxing and labeling the books back in the warehouse, and no one who had escaped that wanted to go back to it.

Marinette hoped that the scooter would pass them by, but unfortunately it came to a stop at the end of their aisle of shelves. 

“Pssst!”

Marinette looked up to see, not an overbearing manager, but her friend Alya, who had started working there a lot more recently than any of her other friends and was consequently still stuck in the warehouse. She must be on her break, Marinette thought. I wonder why she’s not with Nino?

Curious, she went over.

“I can’t talk right now, Alya, I’ve got all these to shelve and there are more where those came from.”

“Nino just got chewed out by the  _ weirdest _ customer guys,” Alya said, and only then did Marinette realize that Adrien had joined them. “You’ve gotta come check it out!”

Alya zipped away, and Marinette and Adrien shared a look of mutual mischief before tearing after her. After all, they could always say they needed a bathroom break if a Manager came by and couldn't find them.


	18. Day 19- Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Universal gets a bright idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter today, but I wanted to do it justice.

Universal quickly figured out that she wasn’t going to be able to find anyone very quickly in the labyrinth of the bookstore, so as much as she wanted to inflict punishment, she had to change universes again. However… she smiled wickedly as she got a terrible,  _ brilliant _ idea. She wanted to find people who were drawn together?  _ Meant for each other? _ Well… there was a perfect way to do  _ that. _

\----

Marinette focused on following Alya. The store scooters were faster than walking, but not faster than running- they just saved the energy of the potential runner. They needed to be fairly slow in order to avoid lawsuits from running over customers (or staff- it was mentioned in every safety briefing on the things, but everyone knew management was more concerned about customers).

She spared a glance for Adrien, who seemed to be keeping up just fine. Of course, all the exercise and dieting he’d had to do when younger probably kept him in decent shape, but she was pleasantly surprised to see he wasn’t even breathing hard yet. Neither was she, but she practiced parkour in her spare time, so this was more like a warm-up for her.

Alya finally started to slow down and Marinette looked around to orient herself. Every employee had to pass a geography test on the layout of the store before they could be promoted from the warehouse, so she had a rough guess where they were just from where they’d been, and how long it had taken them to get there. This section was Historical Fiction, which was shelved first according to approximate era, then specific year within the era, then alphabetically by the author’s last name. If she remembered correctly, there was a small non-book-related shopping section on the east side, which offered a selection of book-themed clothing and accessories, as well as the obligatory cafe.

Alya turned off to the left, and Marinette and Adrien followed, slower this time. They didn’t want it to seem like they were actually following Alya, since they were supposed to be in an entirely different section. But if they just walked along, they could make it seem like they were either on an errand, or a break.

Alya stopped when the service counter came into view at the end of the aisle. Marinette and Adrien crept up behind her and peered cautiously out. Somewhat to their disappointment, there was no sign of anyone but Nino, who was busy spritzing and wiping down the counter.

“We missed her,” Alya lamented. She pulled her phone out and cursed softly. “And my break is almost over. Oh well, I did catch some of it on my phone before I left.” 

Marinette and Adrien crowded around while she pulled up the short video on her phone. She lowered the volume so as not to draw attention, but Marinette could see she was right to call the customer weird. There was definitely something off about her. Her fingertips looked like they’d been dipped in dye, matching her hair. If the color hadn’t been so bright, Marinette might have suspected henna, but it was magenta. She watched the woman gesture angrily, clearly berating poor Nino, who just smiled painfully, occasionally opening his mouth as if to try to actually help this woman. She didn’t seem to want help, though, just to yell at someone, because she never let him actually say anything. It was a short video, since Alya had left the area quickly to find them, but Marinette had no trouble imagining the relief Nino must have felt when the woman finally stalked off.

“Sorry for the wild goose chase,” Alya said, deftly turning the scooter around in preparation of heading back to her warehouse job.

“It’s not a big deal,” Adrien said. “It was nice to get moving. Bending down over and over gets hard on the back muscles after a while.”

“Same here,” Marinette said. “And hey- thanks for looking for us! Just because we all work together now and it’s hard to hang out doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to have fun.”

Alya smiled a little sadly and said, “I wish you’d tell Nino that- he brushed me off as soon as that Karen came up to the counter. And sure, I don’t work in the store itself, but I know better than to interrupt… but it was like he didn’t even want me there.”

Adrien shrugged. “Maybe he just didn’t want you to catch the edges of her wrath? You know he cares about you, Als.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Alya said, still sounding dejected. 

Marinette stepped forward and touched her arm. “Don’t worry about it too much, okay? But do talk to him about it later on when neither of you are at work. He needs to know how you felt about that so you can work it out- maybe find a better way to handle this kind of situation in the future, you know?”

“Ooo, look who’s been reading through the psychology section lately!” Alya joked, but Marinette could tell from her brighter smile that she was taking the advice to heart.

“Yeah Alya,” Adrien said after they’d all chuckled weakly at her joke. “You know you and Nino are as close to soulmates as anyone’s likely to get, right?”

Suddenly, they heard the unmistakably piercing barks of a small dog. A moment later something red flew overhead, closely followed by something small and black zooming after it, yapping madly. Moving faster than anyone Marinette had ever seen, Adrien caught the dog and held it while it wriggled and kicked, trying to get back on the ground.

“Hey, hey, easy there,” Adrien said, holding it out from his body to avoid getting scratched. 

Marinette looked closer and saw that it was a small terrier- of the Yorkshire variety, if the longer muzzle hair was any indication. It growled and barked twice more, twisting around to see who or what was holding it. To her surprise, as soon as it saw who it was, it seemed to relax and settle down, though it still looked up toward the ceiling with a whine.

“Aw, how cute!” Marinette cooed, coming closer. “Who did you run away from?”

The dog growled and snapped at her and she quickly backed away. The dog snuggled closer to Adrien.

“Well,” he said, chuckling a little. “I guess I should return this to whoever it ran away from…”

“Maybe it’s a service dog?” Alya suggested doubtfully. “Or a regular dog that knows to go get other people when their person is in trouble. Better make an announcement over the loudspeaker.”

“Yeah, I- I think you’re right,” Adrien said, trying to find a good position to carry the little dog that it didn’t immediately try to wiggle out of.

Meanwhile, Marinette was looking up toward the ceiling to find what it had been chasing. There was a small red bird with a few black spots on the wings and black head feathers perched on a rafter.

“I’ll radio animal control,” Marinette said. “Maybe they can catch it quickly and let it back outside.” 

“Sounds good,” Adrien said, already walking back in the direction the dog had probably come from. Alya watched him go.

“Shouldn’t he, like, maybe use the intercom first?” she asked, glancing back towards Nino’s counter- which had a phone they could use to arrange a pick-up with the owner. Marinette waved her down.

“Ah, let him go explore a little. He’ll figure it out eventually. Besides, you’re break’s over- you should probably get back.”

“Alright. See ya later, girl!” Alya waved as she headed the scooter towards the back of the store.

\----

Marinette had radioed animal control, and they told her to follow the bird if it moved so they could keep eyes on it. She had followed it almost back to the Study/Learning section when the change rolled over her. She hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, but once the change happened,  _ she remembered. _ She tried to lean up against a bookshelf that just… wasn’t there anymore, and stumbled, almost bumping into someone on a crowded street that had previously been a largely deserted bookstore main aisle.

Swallowing thickly, and feeling a little lightheaded, Marinette turned blindly into the entrance of a small cafe she just happened to be passing at the time, just to get a little breathing space. She hoped the change had put Tikki back into her purse where she was supposed to be… now realizing that Tikki must have been the little bird she’d been following in that weird alternate reality bookstore. It would be awkward if the kwami had to fly back to her in broad daylight in a crowded area.

She managed to hold it together through getting a small table and ordering a sandwich. The lightheadedness, she thought, might be due to missing a meal- who knew how long she’d been stuck in that universe without eating anything. The waiter left her alone there wasn’t anyone sitting close to her, so she checked for Tikki. To her great relief, her kwami smiled up at her, and Marinette took the opportunity of looking in her purse to pull out her blue-tooth earpiece. Tikki knew what that meant, and perched herself in the opening of Marinette’s purse which Marinette kept in her lap with the opening facing towards her.

“So… that was a thing,” Marinette said, after miming making a call on her phone.

“I know, Marinette. But you handled it very well! You didn’t give yourself away, even when you didn’t know there was anything to give away!” Tikki kept her voice low enough no one should be able to overhear her.

“Still. Have you figured anything else out?”

“Only that you need to be very, very careful right now.”

Marinette frowned. “What do you mean?”

“This may look like the reality you remember, but this is another akuma-verse, Marinette. I’m getting better at sensing them, and something feels… off. Like it’s going to force you into something if you’re not careful. If I’m right, it could be very dangerous for you and Chat if you happen to meet each other as civilians.”

Marinette’s breath caught. “Is that likely to happen?”

Tikki paused before answering. “If it goes the way it has been, yes. It’s more likely than not.”

Marinette swallowed. “Okay. Okay, we’ll… cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“But Marinette, that’s not all!” She glanced around, saw that Marinette’s food was on the way over, and settled back down into the purse. Marinette pretended to end the call and thanked the waiter. It was unsettling to leave things so, but she was hungry, and it wouldn’t take that long for her to eat her sandwich. Once she was done, she paid and visited the restroom before leaving the cafe.

As soon as they were alone in the restroom, Tikki zipped out of the purse. “Marinette, whatever you do, don’t take your clothes off.”

“What?” Marinette hissed. Tikki flew a little closer, her expression concerned.

“I think this may be a soulmate universe,” she said. “And if it is, there’s probably some mark on your body that will indicate who your soulmate is when you meet them.”

Marinette closed her eyes. This was all she needed. She was already confused between her feelings for Adrien and now for Chat Noir… she did not need a soulmate on top of all of that. She paused, her eyes narrowing in on Tikki. 

“Wait- you said it could be dangerous if Chat and I met as civilians right now. That means…” she took a deep breath, not sure if she was mad or scared or both. Probably both. “You think we’re soulmates, don’t you.” 

It wasn’t a question.

Tikki smiled apologetically and shrugged. “You and Chat are a good match for your respective miraculouses- much closer than some of our other chosen, although we have had some really great ones in the past! And Plagg and I  _ are _ soulmates, at a level that no human could ever hope to reach. It’s something that tends to… leak over on to our holders, to a certain extent.” She flew closer again, patting Marinette’s cheek. “It doesn’t have to mean romance, you know. And once this universe is cancelled, any physical mark will disappear. But the bond… I’m afraid it’s already there. The danger right now comes from  _ openly acknowledging _ it. The akuma picked this for a reason, and I’m sure it’s because she’s trying to find you and Chat in your civilian forms.”

Marinette nodded slowly, still thinking through things. “Okay. Then I definitely won’t look for any mark. But… does Plagg know about this universe? Is he going to warn Chat?”

She could only hope that if he did, Chat would have the self-control  _ not _ to look for a mark.

\----

It only took the little dog in his arms melting into a  _ very angry _ kwami for Adrien to snap back to reality. He looked around for a place to hide before Plagg’s current state of hissing and spitting turned into yelled words which anyone could overhear. He tried to cover his panic with a smile when he realized that he’d have to keep walking until he could find an alleyway. 

He broke into a jog and fortunately came upon an alleyway soon enough. He darted in, hoping no one had recognized him and found a place where hopefully Plagg’s ranting and screeching wouldn’t echo too much.

“That dirty, rotten- I’LL CATACLYSM HER until there’s NOT EVEN ATOMS LEFT!”

“Woah, woah, hold on there, Plagg-- what are you talking about?” Adrien hissed, trying his best to muffle his kwami in the folds of his overshirt.

“SHE TURNED ME INTO A DOG! A  _ DOG!” _

Adrien quickly turned his laugh into a cough. It was evident that Plagg really was furious, not just pretending to be angry for the drama of it all. Without a word, he reached into his pocket for the only thing that might be able to calm him down.

Placated with not one, not two, but  _ three _ pieces of camembert cheese (all that Adrien had with him), Plagg subsided into irritated growls and the occasional hiss in between taking savage bites. By the time he’d finished his third piece, he was still grumpy, but no longer prone to exposing Adrien’s identity by drawing too much attention to himself.

Adrien wisely chose not to comment on Plagg’s appearance as a dog (even though he’d been very cute) and thus he lived to save another day. 

“Well, what are we going to do now? Should we try to find Ladybug?” he asked instead. Plagg grumbled to himself, nubs crossed over his miniscule chest. But then he sniffed the air. And sniffed it again.

“Hey, go to the mouth of the alley, kid. Let’s just… watch for a bit.”

Adrien did as directed, and they stood there, Adrien pretending to wait for someone while on his phone, and Plagg keeping an eye out from his hiding place in the jacket. The longer they stood there, the more conspicuous Adrien felt, but he couldn’t really do anything but keep his head down and watch for trouble out of the corner of his eye.

It didn’t take long for something interesting to happen. Plagg got his attention with a sharp jab, then pointed across the street.

Adrien raised his head, as if looking for the person he was waiting for, and paid attention. Across the street were two people, meeting, shaking hands… that was all normal, but then a flash of light bloomed from one of their wrists. Both of them looked down, then one pulled their sleeve back, as if looking for something. The other did the same. They looked up at each other again and started smiling. They touched their arms together and another flash of light brightened the day. People around them were beginning to take notice, moving in with smiles and taking pictures, patting them on the backs before moving on. The two of them shared a hug, and then left together.

“What was that about, Plagg?”

“Ah, crap. Not one of  _ these _ ,” Plagg complained. “If there’s anything we  _ shouldn’t _ do, Adrien, it’s to find Ladybug right now. Not untransformed, at least.”


	19. Day 20- Fairytale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug attempts to rescue Adrien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update. I couldn't wrap my head around this prompt at all yesterday, plus it was my daughter's birthday and I was busy with everything for that.

Universal had been darting all over Paris, following the pulses put off by various soulmates finding each other. There weren’t all that many- only eight- but none of them matched the general description of Ladybug or Chat Noir, and now her time was running out. Try as she would, she couldn’t make any particular reality last for very long. Hopefully, after she delivered their Miraculouses to Hawkmoth, he would fix her power so that she could enjoy her alternate universes as long as she wanted to.

Growling to herself, she tried to think what kind of universe would help her find them next. Fun was still possible, but she really needed something geared toward finding out who they were, or stealing their Miraculouses. 

Making a decision, she forced the new reality on top of the present soulmate universe, watching as the changes expanded outward from her, and wondering if the heroes would think to try locating her that way.

\----

Ladybug made her way to the Eiffel Tower to meet up with Chat. Apparently, they’d both had the same idea of transforming to avoid a possible identity reveal through a soulmate mark, because Chat had tried calling her right after she and Tikki decided transforming would be best. Now she was hoping they could come up with a workable plan for confronting this akuma. 

Tikki could apparently remember everything- possibly because she was a kwami and the akuma didn’t take non-human brains into account when she was rewriting memories. 

And Marinette could remember bits and pieces of what happened since the first time she and Chat had gotten caught in the change while transformed. Not everything, but enough to know that she’d been separated from both her Miraculous and Tikki during at least one of the universes.

That… was worrying. What if the akuma decided to do something similar in the middle of the fight, once they finally found her? Speaking of, how could they find her if she continued to be so circumspect?

She already knew this akuma wasn’t the flashy type, otherwise she and Chat would have been on top of her after the first reality change. It was possible to see the effect whenever she changed reality again, but the memory rewrite negated most of the advantage of that, since it was possible neither she nor Chat would be able to remember to go after her, or even get to the center of the change before the akuma had moved on.

_ This is really annoying, _ she thought.  _ We can’t wait for her to come to us, but we also don’t want to draw her to us in case she tries to figure out our identities, and it’s dangerous to take her on in the first place because she could change reality and strip us of our powers! _

Speaking of… 

Ladybug watched with dread as a ripple in the air moved steadily towards her, changing everything in its wake.

\----

Ladybug, the Luck Knight, charged towards danger on her trusty mount, Tikki. She was on a quest. Well… perhaps “quest” was the wrong word. More like a challenge. A contest, even. With a prize beyond measure if she managed to pass all the tests. 

Off to the side, she caught sight of an oven with smoke issuing from it’s chimney. Considering she was riding through a deserted patch of wood, an oven in use struck her as… suspect. There were several things it could be, but most of the signs pointed to ‘witch.’ Whether it was a white witch or a black witch remained to be seen. 

Ladybug reigned in and dismounted, approaching the oven obliquely and with her sword out. It was too bad Chat Noir, Knight of Destruction and her partner in arms, couldn’t join her on this journey- she could have used his help, if only to watch her back. But he’d been called home in order to wed, and while she missed him, she was happy he would finally have someone else to try and romance. Something within her screamed at her with the thought, but she ignored it in favor of trying to watch her own back.

As she got closer to the oven she began to hear something. A faint call for help. She edged closer, activating her lucky charm just in case. She checked the area around the oven again to see if illusions would now fall away… but there was nothing. 

“Out! Out!” she heard again, still faint, but echoing a little, as if the sound came from the bottom of a well. “Take us out before we burn!”

Ladybug held her lucky charm in one hand and checked the area once more before picking up the hook to open the metal door. Praying her luck would hold (and she wouldn’t see a child in there) she peered in. All that met her gaze was half a dozen loaves of bread. Letting out her breath, she relaxed a little.

“Take us out! Our crust is crisp and our insides tender. Please take us out before we are ruined!” the bread pleaded- though how it could speak without a mouth was beyond her. Ladybug tended to chalk these things up to magic and go on with her day. Now she looked around and found a bread peel lying a table beside the oven. Ignoring the fact that the table hadn’t been there a moment ago, she took up the peel and shoved it quickly under the bread, smiling as she managed to get all six loaves on the peel at the same time. Being raised in a bakery sometimes came in handy.

With a practiced motion, she pulled the bread out and deposited it on the table. 

“Thank you, thank you!” the bread said, and Ladybug smiled at it. 

“You’re quite welcome,” she said. “It would truly be a shame to let good bread burn.”

“Yes, yes! Please, take one of us with you! It will give you energy when you need it.”

Ladybug quirked an eyebrow under her helmet and bowed to the bread- however strange that felt. She wasn’t likely to turn down an offer of magical provisions, so she carefully said, “Thank you very much. Would any of you like to volunteer?”

Incredibly, one of the loaves on the table twitched, and she picked that one up, calling Tikki over so she could stow it in her saddlebag, carefully wrapped. Turning back to the table, she was about to ask if there was anything else she should do for the bread… but the oven, table, and bread had vanished. She put her hand on the saddlebag, comforted by the warmth she felt radiating from the loaf that still remained.

Shaking her head slightly, she remounted and continued on her way.

\----

Chat Noir, Knight of Destruction, sat in the window of the impossible tower on the impossible hill, and tried very hard not to curse his own father. Right now being Chat Noir was easier than being Prince Adrien. At least if this whole thing collapsed underneath him, Chat Noir was more likely to survive than Prince Adrien would. 

He’d always known King Gabriel had standards that reached the moon, but he’d never imagined that he would renege- oh wait, not  _ renege,  _ oh no, not _ that _ \- on a marriage contract. And all because once the Princess had arrived, she’d apparently been very annoying.

King Gabriel had decided that he did  _ not _ in fact want this woman for a daughter-in-law, but since going back on the arrangement entirely would most likely mean war, he had decided to throw the field open in a contest. Whoever passed all the trials and succeeded in bringing Prince Adrien down from his tower would be allowed to wed him. Of course, the last and most hazardous trial of all was conquering the glass mountain.

It had to be magic, of course. There was no earthly way for a mountain- more of a small hill, actually- to be made of glass, have a regular stone tower built on top of it, and not shatter into a thousand pieces. For one thing, there wasn’t enough glass in the world. 

Still, Chat felt ridiculous. He’d always hated being the one everyone admired and envied. It was the reason he’d become Chat Noir in the first place. People treated Chat Noir with respect (and fear, in the case of criminals and evil-doers), but they still treated him as a  _ person. _ Prince Adrien never got to experience that. And now here he was, once again reduced to the status of a  _ prize. _

Granted, having now met with Princess Chloe, Chat could understand his father’s concerns. She was both vain and self-serving- a dangerous combination. And he had already heard servants gossiping about how impossible it was to serve her. A Queen like that would be a bad bargain for the Kingdom, and he didn’t relish the idea of her as a wife, either. 

Now, if only  _ Ladybug _ would enter the contest…

He had no way of knowing who had entered, but he could see some of what went on from his window. He’d been in the tower for nearly a whole month, and in that time, only three had come close enough to attempt the mountain.

Surprisingly, Princess Chloe- he would recognize that shrill voice anywhere- was the first to get past all the other obstacles and attempt the mountain. Unsurprisingly, she hadn’t gotten far before giving up, complaining loudly about the ruined state of her hair.

The second attempt was made by a seemingly resourceful woman with brown hair. She had caught his interest, since she’d brought a retinue with her. They’d begun building a large crane, but when they’d hoisted her up to the top of the crane, the top of the mountain was narrower- and thus farther away- than the bottom, and she couldn’t swing across the gap.

The third was a fierce looking woman who had made it halfway up the mountain using something attached to her hands and feet. But then it had started to rain, and she had lost her grip on the now-wet glass, sliding back down to the bottom. 

After that, no one else had gotten far enough in the contests to make the attempt. Chat frequently thought about simply cataclysming the whole thing, faking his death, and rejoining Ladybug to have adventures for the rest of his life.

And that, of course, is when Ladybug showed up. 

\----

Universal watched from the sidelines, carefully disguised with all the other ‘nobles of the land,’ and watched as this reality’s version of Ladybug- this time a knight in red and black armor- made her attempt. Once she got to the top, Universal was planning to change realities again, this time to something that would strip them of their superpowers again. Hopefully, she’d be able to learn their identities as their masks melted away.

\----

Ladybug felt the eyes on her back as she readied Tikki for the climb, but she didn’t let them bother her. She unpacked the golden armor that was the third gift and put it on the horse, clutching her lucky charm tight. Once the horse was ready, she unwrapped the loaf of bread- the first gift- and quickly ate it, feeling a surge of energy both magical and mundane.

Whispering spells under her breath, she mounted, and rode straight at the glass mountain, determined to free the poor soul at the top. When she’d heard that King Gabriel, instead of outright honoring the marriage contract with the Kingdom of Bourgeois, had decided on a contest for his son’s hand in marriage, she knew she had to do something. She had seen many a noble sacrifice their own wishes for the sake of lands or gold- she had even assisted in that sacrifice- but she’d known the Prince as a child and decided then and there that he should be allowed to make his own choice.

So she would complete the course and rescue him from the tower, and then… then she would set him free. She stubbornly squashed the hope that always rose in her heart when she considered what he might choose to do with that choice. He didn’t know her anymore- to him, she was nothing but yet another heroic knight, questing for adventure and fame (also money, but it was considered gauche to mention that). To him, his rescue would seem merely another attempt to gain favor and fame.

Tikki slowed as they approached the foot of the mountain. At her rider’s urging, she placed one tentative foot on the slippery glass, and when it didn’t slip off as expected, took another tentative step. Soon, Ladybug had her trotting around the mountain in an ever tightening spiral until finally… they reached the top.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors. This chapter received... minimal editing. Have a bonus scene that I hope makes you laugh as much as it did me in exchange.
> 
> Bonus:
> 
> Gabriel suddenly found himself in what looked like an old, wooden building full of fabrics with a large table in the very middle, and what looked like an assortment of tiny elves running to a fro, wielding needles and thread, and scissors four times their size, and turning his stock of fabrics into truly atrocious attire.
> 
> "Nathalie...!" He yelled.
> 
> He really didn't have time for this.


	20. Day 21- Circus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat and Ladybug decide to stop playing around.

Universal grinned as the Luck Knight reached the top of the tower, although it was irritating that her akuma form could not fly or hover, like others before her had. She couldn’t really make out faces from this distance, but as long as she got the formula right… she should have their identities before too much longer.

The change rippled and spread out from her and a flicker of movement from the top of the glass mountain caught her attention. She frowned to see the black mask that meant the person inside the tower was transformed. She didn’t know who was supposed to be in there- everyone around her just called him ‘the Prince,’ usually followed by a heartsick sigh that made her roll her eyes. She’d turned someone else into a Prince before- the fashion mogul’s son, who was always all over the billboards- but she didn’t know who Chat was under the mask, so that was no clue. Besides, the two Princes were so very different from each other.

Ah well. She saw Chat point down at her, and knew she’d been seen this time. The memory edits ought to take care of that, though. She smiled as she tried to shift through the crowd to get closer to what was rapidly turning into a high-top circus tent.

\----

Chat blessed the fact that his transformation apparently gave him some measure of protection against the akuma’s powers. He retained enough memory to know that he’d been in a tower before, and that Ladybug had arrived to rescue him right before the new reality began to take hold. And this time, he’d seen that whoever was doing it was in the crowd below them.

However, that had been in the daylight, with a small crowd. This was under a circus tent- with only the center brightly lit, and with lots of convenient dark spots and shadows where the audience would be. Even now he was sweating under his makeup. The feel of heavy makeup wasn’t anything new, but he was glad he was still high-up and away from the audience because he felt the sudden loss of his transformation. A quick look confirmed the silver/black ring wasn’t on his finger anymore. The loss of Plagg filled him with a certain amount of panic. Considering he was at the top of a flying trapeze platform, perhaps that was to be expected. He had no mask, no supersuit, no enhanced strength or stamina.

He could understand the lack of a mask- a regular mask would mess with vision enough to be a problem in a sport like this one. Remembering that Ladybug had been fairly close to him, he cautiously looked down, trying not to look at the face of a woman in a skimpy red and black costume waiting on the ladder below him. But he breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t wearing a mask either, but the wash of color on her face reassured him. Instead of a mask, she had elaborate facepaint that served to conceal her identity. Hopefully, it was the same for him. There wasn’t anything shiny up here to use as a mirror. 

Ladybug patted his foot with a reassuring smile- his identity must still be intact. He wondered just how much control they had over their appearances- surely the akuma wouldn’t have wanted them to have enough paint on their faces that it served as a mask… he let the thought roll around in his mind as he scanned the crowd below.

He knew what his job was- swing onto that trapeze and put on a good show- but he remembered enough to know he wasn’t trained for it, and doing that would prevent him from looking for the akuma- who  _ must _ be in the crowd below. He’d seen how the ripple extended outwards from a single point before washing over them, but he hadn’t been able to see clearly who it was, much less what the akuma looked like.

As the crowd began to grow restless, he came to a decision. Climbing down on the opposite side of the ladder as Ladybug, he came level with her and stopped.

“Let’s cut to the chase, Bugaboo. We know the akuma has to be in this crowd, and neither of us remember the skills we’d need to go swinging around on these-”

“Speak for yourself, kitty,” Ladybug interrupted. “I regularly go swinging around Paris.”

“Yeah, but that’s with your yo-yo, which you don’t have at the moment,” he retorted.

Ladybug smacked his arm. “I wasn’t disagreeing with you, just reminding you that I’d probably have an even or better chance of pulling off a flying trapeze routine. But you’re right- we should go after the akuma while they’re contained here.”

The crowd below began booing and calling for the pair to start their routine, and the Ringmaster got out her bullhorn and started extolling their virtues and assuring the crowd that the show would begin momentarily. It was a pointed hint in their direction, but Chat ignored it. This akuma had already made them dance to too many tunes- he wasn’t about to let her do it again when both their lives might be on the line without their shock-absorbing supersuits.

With them both in agreement, Chat perched on the side of the ladder and slid down it while Ladybug did the same on their side. The Ringmaster began shouting something about technical difficulties, and directed the audience’s attention to some other planned spectacle.

With a quick look at Ladybug, Chat confirmed that they would stay together rather than splitting up. It was a risk in that it meant they might not catch the akuma, but at least neither of them would be caught by the akuma alone- they were much more visible than the akuma, after all, and more vulnerable. Facepaint could be wiped off if they were unconscious.

They bolted toward the stands- thankfully only on one side of the tent instead of both- trying to make out anything through the still bright lights shining down on them. It was impossible to see much in the relatively dark stands while still under them, though. 

They’d been noticed of course, so most of the people near them were looking at them. Chat scanned their faces swiftly.

“Chat, there!” Ladybug said, pointing up and to the right. Chat looked and saw someone with light-colored hair and a headband moving away from them through the crowd. It might be a long shot, but it was the best they had. The audience was too thick for them to vault into the stands, so they both ran along the low siding separating the crowd from the performers, hoping to find a way through before the potential akuma got out of sight.


	21. Day 22- Disney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes face a dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uuuuugggghhhh... the pollen attacked yesterday, and I have really uncomfortable sinuses right now.

Universal moved hastily through the crowd, furious that this reality had betrayed her. It was supposed to strip them of their superpowers and reveal their identities, but instead both of them were wearing elaborate facepaint that might as well be another mask! 

She shoved and elbowed her way through before she suddenly realized that, while the heroes of Paris had been denied their usual powers and supersuits,  _ she _ was still an akuma. She still had the supernatural strength and endurance that came with powers Hawkmoth granted to everyone he used. Why not let the “heroes” catch her? She could easily overpower them, perhaps kidnap one and use them as leverage against the other? 

_ Or, _ she thought,  _ I can change the equation entirely. _

Thus far, she hadn’t changed herself at all, preferring to blend into the crowd so she could enjoy her creations without drawing too much attention to herself. But that didn’t mean she  _ couldn’t. _ And now she thought of a way to truly intimidate them.

\----

Ladybug cursed under her breath as the head she’d been keeping an eye on disappeared into the crowd despite their best efforts to catch up. Outside the main tent had been a street fair, and the akuma had vanished.

Not for long, though, as she saw the ripple approaching once more. She grabbed Chat’s arm and pulled him back, missing her superstrength even more. She only had to glance at him to know he’d seen it, too. They ducked into a narrow space between booths, and stood back to back, just in case.

“Milady?” Chat asked, and Ladybug tried her best not to react to the  _ familiarity _ of his voice. The comfort she felt being so close to him was explained by all the battles they’d fought together, surely. 

“Yes?”

“What are we going to do if we catch her? We can’t exactly purify an akuma without your Miraculous.”

Ladybug closed her eyes and suppressed a sigh. “I know. I’ve been thinking about that… I think I remember that Tikki and Plagg were at least near us during those realities we didn’t have our jewels. Perhaps a different solution will present itself. Or maybe reality will reassert itself once we get the akuma’s object.”

“Maybe,” Chat said. He obviously wasn’t convinced, but perhaps he was comforted by the fact that Ladybug was already thinking of the problem because he didn’t say anything else. The change rolled over them again, and Ladybug did her best to hold on to her memories.

\----

Marinette stood back to back with Chat on a stone bridge that was threatening to crumble under the weight of the fire-breathing dragon blocking their escape. Well, technically she was Princess Coccinelle, and he was The Black Knight/the-Prince-she-was-supposed-to-marry. She glossed over that part because, by some stroke of good fortune, Chat was wearing a face-concealing helm, and she had a headdress with a veil. Besides, she didn’t have time for a freak-out right now, and he was her partner and she trusted him implicitly. Which was good, because the dragon launched a blast of fire at them, and they both hunkered down behind the shield Chat had borrowed from Count Carapace. 

Meanwhile, Marinette desperately tried to think of how to get past the dragon. She was fairly sure the akuma had turned herself into the dragon, and placed them all in this very medieval fantasy. It had a sort of familiar feel to it- so much so that her name and that of Chat’s identity rang a little false- but she couldn’t place it while distracted by trying not to die.

The air around them heated and both of them moved closer to the empty space behind the shield trying to avoid burning their lungs.

“Can we just go back to the part where we were kissing in the tower?” Chat half-yelled. Fire blasts were surprisingly loud.

“Focus, Chat!” she yelled back. “I think the akuma turned herself into a dragon, and…” she fingered her earrings. “I’m pretty sure Tikki will show up in some form or other if we can only defeat it.”

“And how do you propose we do that? I’m not wild about being barbequed!”

The fire stopped and after a moment, they peeked cautiously over the shield. The dragon eyed them in grim dislike and slammed a foreclaw onto the stone bridge. They felt the concussion in the stones.

“If it keeps doing that, the bridge won’t last long,” Chat murmured, and Marinette found herself nodding. Slowly, they edged back across the bridge, the dragon following at every step. Marinette glanced down at the moat water, wondering if there were any dangerous creatures living in it.

“Why do I feel like singing all of a sudden?” she said to herself. Chat overheard her.

“What?”

“I… kind of feel like singing?”

Chat glanced down at the water too. “Huh. I… kind of feel like singing myself. Like, about how we’re in dire peril right now, but it’s all worth it because… I love you?”

Marinette chuckled a little at him. “Honestly? Same.”

“Aw,” Chat said, smiling. They were almost back to the forecourt in front of the castle entrance. Once they were there, they could hopefully run into the castle and be relatively safe as long as they stayed away from doors and windows. That wouldn’t help them defeat the dragon, but… an idea was beginning to gel in Marinette’s mind. It involved a makeshift slingshot and Chat’s sword and a large, high window.  _ What I wouldn’t give for a lucky charm, right about now, _ she thought.

All of a sudden the scene melted away, leaving them somehow inexplicably standing right in front of the entry turnstiles of Disneyland Paris. She and Chat had their suits (and presumably powers) back, and Chat was holding a foam shield protectively in front of them both. Where the dragon had been stood the akuma, now quite clear and visible.

She looked ordinary, for the most part, but the headband holding her light brown hair back glowed a dark purple, and her fingertips looked like they’d been dipped in magenta dye. Her eyes were the same magenta color, as were the tips of her hair.

She looked astonished- and angry.


	22. Day 23- Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, Universal's schemes don't come out quite the way she wants.

The akuma glared at them, curling her hands into fists. Chat Noir and Ladybug held their positions as the akuma stalked closer, though Ladybug held her yo-yo at the ready and Chat pulled his baton out, dropping the useless foam shield.

“Why won’t your stupid masks come off?” she yelled. “No matter what I try, your faces remain concealed. It shouldn’t work like that! I deprived you of your miraculouses several times, and  _ still _ don’t know your identities! And now Hawkmoth is threatening to take away my akuma! Because of  _ you!” _

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “Not this again,” she griped, then raised her voice. “Hey! Hawkmoth was the one who gave you your powers- shouldn’t you be blaming  _ him _ for that?”

The akuma stopped, still seething. “Hawkmoth was the one who gave me the power to finally live in a universe of my own making.  _ You’re _ the ones trying to take that away from me!”

“Uh, you  _ just _ said Hawkmoth threatened to take back his akuma, so… yeah.” Chat put in. “Plus, we didn’t even know about you until Mayura did that little run over the rooftops… how do you get off blaming us for anything?”

He was now leaning nonchalantly on his extended baton, in a pose Ladybug knew well. He might look like he wasn’t taking the fight seriously, but she knew his reflexes were fast enough to counter anything she might throw at them.

The akuma growled and her headband- definitely where the akuma was hiding- pulsed twice. Her scowl turned into a grin.

“I can blame you if I want,” she said, “after all,  _ I’m  _ the one bending reality to my will! And I  _ will _ -”

Ladybug grabbed Chat, and flung out her yo-yo, hoping to get out of range before the air distortion over the akuma’s head engulfed them. They’d been lucky so far, but as much as her powers depended on luck, she didn’t want to use it all up at once.

Her yo-yo caught on something and they were pulled away just as the bubble began to expand.

\----

“Bugaboo?”

“Yes?”

Ladybug- she still  _ felt _ like Ladybug, despite feeling her suit melt away a moment earlier as the change washed over them- kept her face smashed into Chat’s chest, just in case.

“You can look up, you know. I still have a mask of sorts, and so do you. We’re even still wearing our colors, though the material wouldn’t be up to fight of any kind… I’m pretty sure they’re dance costumes, actually.”

Ladybug heaved a sigh and somewhat reluctantly released her partner, stepping away from him. She only opened one eye to look at him, though, ready to slam it shut if there was the smallest chance of recognizing him. But he was right. The mask he wore was little more than a strip of cloth with holes cut in it tied over his eyes. 

Ladybug reached up and felt a satin strip around her head. Her sight was a little restricted, but it wasn’t bad. She looked down at herself and saw an elegant red dress with black glittery material edging the neckline and sleeves, and red feathers with black tufts around the hem. It felt light and heavy at the same time, the hem dragging at the construction just enough that she knew it would twirl beautifully.

Likewise, Chat was wearing a loose black shirt made of a billowy material, probably silk. His trousers were tight fitting and had a little lycra induced shine to them. His regular boots had morphed into a shiny pair of black shoes. She looked at his face again and he grinned.

“Listen!” He said, then tapped one of his toes. A sharp click on the hard tiles of the roof made Ladybug break out in delighted laughter. Of course. Of course  _ Chat Noir _ would be given tap shoes in an alternate reality in which they were professional dancers.

“Oh, that’s perfect!” she crowed. “But I wonder what our routine is. I’m dressed more as a ballroom dancer and so are you, so… how do the tap shoes fit in?”

“Foxtrot,” Chat answered immediately. “There’s a lot of quick and fancy footwork in a foxtrot and it would pair well with intermittent tap dancing.”

Ladybug stared at him. “How do you know that?”

He shrugged. “Mandatory dancing lessons when I was younger.”

“So you’ve actually tap danced? Like, in front of people?”

He grimaced. “Well, no. My father thought tap dancing was too gauche for me to study, but I’ve taken ballroom, and I got to watch the kids taking tap during the various recitals. He never came to those, so he never knew I was being exposed to such a ‘bad influence.’” He shrugged. “If he’d known, he probably would have arranged for Na- for his assistant to drop me off right before my class’ turn to perform and had her whisk me away again after my performance, so I’m kind of glad now that he never came to the recitals.”

“Hmm,” Ladybug said, nodding. At this point she wasn’t even making an effort to ignore little hints, like the cut off name of Chat’s father’s assistant. She was pretty certain in her own mind that Adrien was Chat Noir, but until this particular akuma was defeated, she couldn’t say that out loud.

“Well, then Kitty,” she said, holding out an elegantly gloved hand. “Why don’t we draw this akuma back to us? I don’t relish the idea of her catching us by surprise, or ripping these masks off, but I don’t want to lose her again, either.”

“As you wish, my lady,” Chat said, bowing before taking her hand. As soon as he did, music rose up around them, even though there were no speakers and certainly no live performers anywhere near them. It was, for all the world, as if they were in a movie and listening to the soundtrack of the scene while they acted their parts.

The Foxtrot, as Ladybug quickly discovered, was a fast paced and energetic dance. Fortunately, this reality had imbued her muscles with remembered steps and actions, and she was able to follow Chat’s lead. She even knew when to stop when it was time for him to show off some tapping ability during their clearly rehearsed routine.

About midway through their routine, the akuma showed up again, as shrieking from the street below them attested. They stopped dancing, and went to the edge to wave cheerfully down at her.

“Hey, can you sustain this one for a while longer?” Chat called down cheekily. “We’re not quite done with our routine, and it’s really fun!”

“You want fun?” the akuma shrieked. “I’ll give you fun!”

Air distorted around her and this time there was no handy yo-yo to get them out of range of the rapidly expanding alternate universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I can get the actual prompt for today done and posted as well, so I won't be a day behind anymore.
> 
> Bonus:
> 
> Nathalie grumbled as the paperwork in front of her morphed into paperwork that looked suspiciously like contestant forms for some kind of competition. She was really growing tired of this. Three days, already! And sure, it was a record, but she was more than a little annoyed to have her work interrupted so constantly. At least this time she didn't find herself in a different place entirely.
> 
> She got up with half a mind to heavily hint to Gabriel that he either cut this akuma loose, or allow her to go and harry the heroes as well- since she wasn't getting any work done anyway- only to walk in and find a dance studio, instead of an office.
> 
> Gabriel, attired in sweatpants and a loose tank top, was stretching at the bar.
> 
> "Ah, Nathalie. Have you filled out the entrance forms yet? A dancing universe is unorthodox, but hopefully this time the heroes will be sans masks. I'm a little rusty, but I thought perhaps we could attempt a waltz?"
> 
> Without a word, Nathalie walked straight back out of the room.
> 
> "Nope. No, no, no, I will not get sucked in," she muttered under her breath.


	23. Day 24- Cursed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat actually fight the akuma.

As soon as the ripple washed over them, Chat started to feel… uncomfortable. It was weird, because he was back to wearing his supersuit, but it was like it was suddenly just a little too small, or something. Glancing to the side, he saw Ladybug roll her shoulders as if to ease an ache. But instead of relaxing, her shoulders got more tense. Chat unconsciously mirrored the movement, but it didn’t ease anything. In fact, it seemed to make it worse.

Down on the street the akuma laughed.

“HA! You’re cursed now- both of you! How do you like that!”

“Cursed?” Ladybug pondered quietly. She shrugged, as if it were no big deal, but again, Chat noticed that her shoulders didn’t go all the way back down. In fact, she drew them up and in a little.

Chat reached for his baton, feeling pressure from the sleeve all up and down his arm as he twisted it behind his back. The suit was definitely too tight. What was Plagg  _ doing? _

“Come on down and fight me!” the akuma called, her tone mocking. “If you dare!”

“What do you mean?” Chat called down. Akumas, if they weren’t just raging all over the place, were usually happy to monologue for a little while, and it would maybe buy Ladybug some time to come up with a plan. They knew what her object was, now it was just a matter of getting it off her and breaking it before she could throw them into another reality where their miraculouses didn’t work.

“Can’t you feel it, Chat Noir?” she mocked again. “Your suits are tighter than they’ve ever been, and it’s only going to get worse. Every time you move they will shrink a little more- and since they are indestructible, you will eventually have to stop moving, or be crushed!” She let out her best impression of a villainous laugh. The butterfly symbol lit up over her face and she went still a moment, listening to whatever Hawkmoth was saying to her.

“So you’ve cursed us,” Ladybug said. “But every curse has a cure. What’s ours?”

Chat could hear her concern, not that she didn’t try for a nonchalant tone. He didn’t blame her- as curses went this was a pretty good one. Either they would have to detransform every time the suits got too tight- and thus risk losing the fight, revealing their identities, and possibly losing their miraculous in the process- or they would end up helpless and unable to move, probably in considerable pain, and lose their miraculous anyway.

“Simply give me your miraculous and you won’t have to worry about it anymore!” the akuma crowed.

“Nice try,” Chat called down. “But us giving you our miraculouses won’t remove the curse from them, will it? Which means when Hawkmoth tries to use them, he’ll encounter the same thing. So what’s the  _ real _ cure?”

“Oh sure! I will  _ definitely _ tell you the  _ real _ way to be rid of the curse, Chat Noir,” she said sarcastically.

“It must be something simple,” Ladybug whispered, “Something we can figure out for ourselves if we just think hard enough. If it was something difficult, or something we would have to risk being crushed by our suits for, she would tell us.”

Chat nodded. “Yeah, there’s no reason for her to keep it secret if it would be too hard to do without revealing ourselves.” He cast his partner a sideways glance. “I don’t know about you, but there is one that leaps to the imagination.”

Ladybug gave him a slight frown.

“You know...” He waited for her to put the pieces together. It seemed so obvious to him. “A kiss of true love?” he prompted.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, but he was encouraged to see a smile on her lips. “That would assume I’m in love with you, kitty.”

Normally, he might have posed and postured and made some kind of innuendo. But this time he just smiled instead of smirking. “I never said anything about romantic love. Platonic love can be just as true as the romantic kind, and you’ve told me often enough that you love me… as a friend.” 

Oddly enough, the words echoed in his mind as he said them, calling up images and memories… memories of Marinette. Layering those images of his dear friend over the top of images of Ladybug. Comparing the striking similarities between the two. Memories of talking to Nino, and Plagg, and Kagami, and even his father- telling them all that Marinette was just a friend. Had he been lying to himself this whole time? Had his Lady been in front of him for years and he was too blind to see it?

Ladybug smiled, too, but she also unhooked her yo-yo. “That’s true. But we should-”

She stopped, as the akuma suddenly rose up in front of them, hovering in mid-air. “Hawkmoth upgraded my powers,” she smirked. “And if you try to stop me from taking your miraculous, you’ll end up frozen and in horrible pain. So please, let me beg you to spare yourselves.”

She started to reach for Ladybug’s earrings, and Chat moved without thinking. He extended his baton, deflecting the akuma’s hand. Ladybug shook herself and took a few steps back.

“Lucky charm!” she cried, but instead of throwing her yo-yo up in the air as she normally would, she just held it and the little bugs that swarmed out of it flowed from the yo-yo over to her other hand, coalescing into the shape of a regular ink pen.

Chat had just time enough to see that before the akuma was reaching for his ring. He leapt backward, feeling the tug at shoulders and sole, the pressure along his legs as his suit shrank with the movement. The akuma cackled and drifted toward them both again. Chat quickly calculated the odds that she’d stop advancing before it became too painful or impossible to evade her, and sprang toward her instead, swinging his baton despite the increasing discomfort of the suit. His boots were already too small, his toes crammed up against the tip.

He was used to discomfort. He’d had to put up with wearing uncomfortable clothes for longer than he wanted to remember. This was no worse- or so he told himself. Yet even as he forced her back with wide swings, those swings became more shallow with every pass as he lost a little more range of motion.

“Chat, stop!” Ladybug cried, and he risked a glance back at her as she held the pen up. Somewhere she’d found a small notepad, and she tore a page out. Chat looked again and gaped. On it, Ladybug had written some chinese characters that roughly translated to “destroy the hair decoration.”

“This is our surrender,” Ladybug said, slowly and clearly. “We can’t fight you without being neutralized, and we can’t drop our transformations without giving away our identities. Chat, stand down.”

Chat ignored that last bit, but played along by rising from his fighting stance. Or well, trying to anyway. The suit was now restricting his ability to straighten his legs out at all. He felt like it was made of super-strong rubber bands that he was constantly having to stretch out- only it wasn’t working. He wasn’t strong enough.

As the akuma was passing him, her whole attention on Ladybug, he whispered “Cataclysm,” and reached for the headband. It almost wasn’t enough, the range of motion in his arms was severely limited now. At the last second, he rose on his tiptoes… and his finger brushed the headband.

It disintegrated, the akuma let out a shriek, before collapsing onto the roof, and Ladybug used her yo-yo to capture and purify the akuma. Then, obviously suffering from the same limits as he was, she tossed the pen in the air and released her cure.

The ladybugs swarmed around them both and Chat breathed deeply as he felt the suit expand to its proper size again. It was a relief, but it was also a kind of disappointment since that meant he had no excuse to beg a kiss from Ladybug- could she be Marinette?- anymore. And he’d long since stopped asking unless there was a viable reason for it, or it was a platonic kiss on the top of the head or something.

He looked around- Paris seemed to be restored to its usual bustle. He had subconsciously noticed the strange quiet of the city around them in the last couple of reality changes, but now there were people on the streets and sidewalks again. 

Chat walked over to Ladybug and they bumped fists before approaching the akuma victim.

“Are you going to be alright?” Ladybug asked, squatting in front of the woman. She didn’t look much different from her akuma-form. Hawkmoth had just changed the eyes, hair, and tips of her fingers, really. Chat bent over to scoop up the restored- and perfectly normal- headband and offered it to her.

The woman stared at it a moment before reaching out and taking it. “I… sure. I guess. What happened?”

“You got to live out some of your fantasies, courtesy of Hawkmoth,” Chat said easily. The woman looked at him in horror. “Don’t worry! You were a pretty tame akuma- sneaky, though. It took us a while to even figure out you were active.” He smiled. “Anyway, it’s all over now, and no one was hurt, so no one’s going to try and blame you for losing control of your emotions.”

“Thank you,” she said gratefully. “I should… get back home, I suppose.”

“Do you need one of us to take you?” Ladybug asked.

“No… no. Once I’m back on the ground, I’ll be fine.”

So Ladybug scooped her up and used her yo-yo as a grappling line to gently lower the woman down to the sidewalk.

Chat grinned at her when she came back up. It was so nice not to have to rush off after every battle anymore. “So,” he drawled. “That was a clever use of a lucky charm. But I can’t help wondering… does this make us pen-pals?” he asked, putting one finger to his chin in mock-contemplation.

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “No, silly. We’d only be pen-pals if you wrote me back.”

“Hm… that could be arranged,” he purred. “Why not give me your name and address?”

“I’m pretty sure you already know them,” Ladybug grinned. Then she winked and threw out her yo-yo, letting it pull her away. Chat stared after her, fear and hope warring with each other in his heart. Faintly, and only because his hearing was advanced, he heard her shout, “Send me a line, Chat Noir!” before she disappeared behind a very tall building.

  
  



	24. Day 25- Pen pal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien writes a letter.

Adrien stared down at the letter he’d just finished writing. A letter. Old-fashioned ink pen on pressed wood-pulp composite. 

Should he even send it? What if her parents opened it? What if it was stolen by someone else and read? What if Marinette wasn’t Ladybug after all?

He sighed. She’d said to send her a line. She’d said he already had her name and address. Marinette was the only woman he knew who fit every single qualification. It even made sense that he started being attracted- okay, more like acknowledging his attraction- to her over the past few years. The things he’d loved about Ladybug were also present in Marinette and if they were one and the same… then they’d been dancing around each other for years, unable to see past the magic concealing their identities. Like ships in the night, except that instead of passing each other by never to meet again, they’d been following the same shipping routes, but in opposite directions. Or something.

Adrien pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. After they’d finally purified the akuma, he’d gone back to his apartment, only to see a slew of missed calls from Nathalie, who still scheduled all his photoshoots, even though she no longer had control over the rest of his time. What he’d wanted to do was to sit down and stare at a piece of paper until the perfect words and phrases emerged on it through sheer force of will.

What he actually got to do was to phone Nathalie and try to convince her that he couldn’t make up for three days of missed photoshoots in a single 24 hour period. He’d finally managed to get her to cut it down to two marathon sessions over two days, and since he’d heard his father loudly berating someone (or possibly several someones) else in the background, he was willing to work with that.

But he’d had to leave immediately for the first one, and now it was twelve hours later, and he’d spent the entirety of the photoshoot thinking about the letter. The letter which he had now written. The letter which he now had to  _ send. _

Perhaps that was why he opted for the physical letter. Sending it through the mail was slow, in an era of instantaneous text messages. It would give him time to calm down. Once it was sent there was no going back, after all- it would be out of his hands. He had a lot of practice in putting aside worries and doubts, after all. Ladybug was the one who made the plans- he just followed them. Okay, so sometimes he contributed his little mite, or had to take over for some reason, but most of the time he let her take the lead. 

Which was what he was doing now. He opened his eyes again to stare at the letter. He sighed and carefully folded it into thirds before slipping it into an envelope that he’d already addressed.

He’d debated whether to put his own name and address on it, or whether to send it anonymously, but in the end this was how they were revealing themselves to the other. Not putting his name on it was counterproductive. And if Marinette ended up not being Ladybug…? He could live with that. She would never consciously reveal him to anyone else, of that he was certain.

He glanced at his phone for the time and then hurried down the stairs to the lobby where the mailboxes were. He had no idea when mail was picked up or delivered, but it didn’t really matter. It was early enough in the day she ought to get it by this evening or tomorrow morning. He could wait that long.

\----

Alya sipped her coffee as she watched Marinette flit about their shared apartment in a fit of cleaning frenzy which usually only attacked her when she was anxious and trying to get her mind off of something. 

“Okay, spill. What’s going on with you this time?” she asked, from where she was curled up in the corner of their battered couch.

“No, Alya, don’t. I’m… I’m just really excited about an opportunity, and I know it’s going to take some time to hear back, but I can’t talk about it until I know either yes or no. You know?” Marinette said, her voice echoing oddly as she attacked the inside of their oven with a plastic scrubber. 

Alya sighed and got up to go get dressed. It had been a crazy week. Apparently there had been a sneaky akuma on the loose, changing reality to suit it’s whims, and she remembered bits and pieces of being caught up by it. But that also meant that no one had gotten much actual work done. And that meant working on the weekend.

“See you later!” she called, as she walked through the door half an hour later. “Don’t forget about dinner!”

“Right!” she heard Marinette shout from the bathroom- which she was now deep-cleaning. Alya shook her head and smiled. At least she would be coming home to a sparkling clean apartment later on.

\----

_ My Lady, _

_ You said to drop you a line, so here it is. I am 99.99% sure that you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, my wonderful friend for so many years, are also my partner and the love of my life- Ladybug. I debated long and hard over whether to send you this letter (since it could fall into the wrong hands), but I’m choosing to believe that your good luck will cancel out mine, and this letter will find you unopened and safe. _

_ I can’t find it in me to be angry with the last akuma we fought together. She opened my eyes to many things about you that the magic surrounding our miraculouses kept hidden. I’ve always counted you as one of my most special friends, but recently- since we started University, in fact- I had begun to see you in a different light. I was planning to ask you out soon, even without this reveal of our identities.  _

_ What I’m trying to say is… I love you. I love the way you smile, and how you can make anyone feel better almost instantly. I love how strong and spirited you are going after your dreams, and I love how protective you are of myself and the rest of your friends. I love that you’ve been the one protecting the city all these years, because I can’t see anyone else doing half the job you have. _

_ I love  _ you.

_ You already knew that, of course, but lately I’ve begun to think that your feelings toward me might be changing as well. Hopefully they are. But whatever happens, I’m here for you. I am your partner, and that is never going to change, no matter what happens between us.  _

_ I’m anxiously awaiting your reply. _

_ Love, _

_ Adrien Agreste _

\----

Marinette sank slowly onto the couch and held the letter to her breast for a long moment, savoring the feeling his words evoked. Then she pulled her phone out and called him.


End file.
